Madison Gies-Guy



Improving provider search for patients

HealthPartners is an integrated health care provider and health insurance company. I joined their UX design team in 2022 to help forge a new  partnership with the mobile app team, which had previously been disconnected from the larger digital team. 


 Role: 
Lead UX/UI Designer Project duration: 
Apr 2023–Aug 2023




Project

Redesigning the “find care” app experience, which allows users to find a HealthPartners doctor and clinic.



Research

→ Existing product research

Over several years, the UX research team conducted numerous moderated and unmoderated studies of the website’s “find care” experience. I used the findings from this research and analytics data to make informed decisions as I worked on this project.

→ Competitive analysis

I gathered inspiration from dozens of apps – specifically their search and filter flows – and how to handle long-form content. Some of these apps included Zillow, Target, Airbnb, Google Maps, and many more.



Opportunities

→ Align app experience with website

There were many discrepancies between the app and website. The app needed to provide users with all the same information and functionality as the website.

→ Align iOS and Android

iOS and Android had design and content variations. The app redesign needed to make a consistent experience across operating systems.

→ Improve accessibility

Our accessibility partners conducted an audit that revealed many opportunities to improve accessibility. This included both quick wins that the design system would solve and more complex issues that needed additional partnership.

→ Design for mobile

The current website experience provided a great desktop experience but was difficult to navigate on a smaller screen. The app needed to be designed mobile-first.






User flows

I started by creating a new user flow that outlined the primary task of making an appointment by doctor or clinic.








Content variations

I used the website’s “find care” API to create a master chart of variable content. Since there are numerous variables in content, I needed to create a scalable design that could accommodate this variation. For instance, a doctor could have 0 reviews or 500, they could practice at one location or three, etc.

It was at this point that I realized that this project was really about creating design patterns that accommodate variety and complexity.



Design iteration

1. Listing cards

Past research helped guide what content and CTAs users find helpful on location and doctor cards. While we didn’t want to take functionality away on the app, we did want to simplify the experience so it was easier to use on a small screen. This meant looking at each piece of information and asking: Does this card help the user compare and contrast their options so they can make an informed next-click?





Design iteration

2. Filter/Search

The filter and search functionality for finding care is complicated. There are a mix of multi-selects, single-selects, and input fields. The filters also varied in complexity. Some multi-selects had over 150 choices, while others were a simple boolean. I explored a number of filter solutions that could accommodate the variety and complexity of filters.






Design iteration

3. Detail screen

The detail screen also contained a lot of varied content. I explored different ways to progressively disclose this lengthy but important information.






Final wireframes

Once we landed on the three parts of the design, I put them all together in lo-fi wireframes. This was a pivotal point to get buy-in from the broad team by helping them visualize how it all came together.







SolutionStart with results

The original experience required the user to make a number of filter selections in order to see results. I flipped this to allow users to see results first, then be able to filter down said results.






Solution
Search

I elevated the two primary searches – specialty and location – while using a condensed design to save space on small devices.






Solution
Filter

I designed a scalable filter solution that worked for all types of filters: large multi-selects, small single-selects, input fields, etc.






Solution
Cards

The goal for these cards was to keep it simple and skim-able while directing users to the detail pages for more information. 






Solution
Detail screens

The detail pages utilize progressive disclosure patterns and components that allow the content to be digestible while still having all the content available.

These pages are also scalable for future growth in scheduling capabilities.






Putting it all together




Final location experience


Final doctor experience




Design system

The HealthPartners app team didn’t have a design system, nor did their designs align with the HealthPartners’ website. During this process, I worked with the iOS and Android developers to create a native mobile design system that aligned with HealthPartners’ existing digital design system. This was a big undertaking but was crucial to creating consistency moving forward. Once we established the design system, speccing and communicating was a breeze.

I worked with our accessibility partner at every step to ensure we were meeting WCAG guidelines from our most basic atoms to complex patterns. 







Learnings

This project was a successful starting point for the relationship between UX design and the mobile app team. I gained a much deeper understanding of designing for native mobile apps and collaborating with app developers.

What I would do differently:
  • I wish we had conducted a usability test for the wireframes to gather feedback on the concepts rather than making assumptions and learning post-launch.
  • It would have been nice to take a larger step back and consider the entire appointment-making process, not simply the “find care” portion.



Next steps

  • Use the new mobile app design system to align the app with the website – in UI, content, and accessibility.
  • Incorporate functionality like the ability to filter by “next available appointment” (which is available on the website but not the app).
  • Watch analytics post-launch and iterate. 




Previous project




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