VirtualCare App

VirtualCare App

Project Overview

Imagine feeling sick and you can’t find a healthcare provider. How would you feel?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients lost access to outpatient healthcare, struggling to find providers and schedule appointments. I led the UX research and design efforts for VirtualCare App, focusing on enhancing provider search, improving communication, and streamlining appointment scheduling.

By leveraging user insights, iterative testing, and data-driven design, I improved usability and increased user satisfaction by 15%, while reducing time spent finding a provider by 30%.

Problem Statement

"How might we design a platform that makes it easier for patients to find healthcare providers, improve communication, and simplify appointment booking?

Challenges

1. Difficulty Finding Providers – Patients wasted time searching for available providers, often calling multiple clinics only to find they weren’t accepting new patients.
2. Limited Communication Options – Lack of secure chat or direct messaging led to delays and frustration when reaching providers.
3. Appointment Management Issues – Patients struggled with unclear scheduling steps, leading to missed or double-booked appointments.

Solution

1. Enhanced Provider Search

• Advanced filters and real-time availability.

2. Improved Communication Tools

• Added chat, video calls, and session history for provider interactions

3. Streamlined Appointment Management

• Streamlined appointment booking flow with clear steps and reminders.

Final Result

15% Increase in User Satisfaction

• Measured through pre/post usability surveys, where users rated ease of use, provider search efficiency, and communication clarity.

1. Research and Discovery

Qualitative Research

I conducted 10 in-depth user interviews (ages 18-30) via Zoom and in person, focusing on their pain points and behaviors when searching for healthcare providers and booking appointments.

Key Interview Questions:

• "What challenges do you face when searching for a healthcare provider?"
• "How do you typically communicate with your healthcare providers?"
• "Can you walk me through your process of scheduling an appointment?"

Affinity Map

“It’s frustrating to spend hours calling providers, only to find out they aren’t accepting new patients.”

The scheduling system is confusing—I’ve accidentally double-booked appointments before.”

“I wish I could message my doctor directly instead of waiting for a call or email response.”

Key Findings

1. Frustration with provider availability – Users expressed frustration over wasting time calling clinics that were not accepting new patients, with no way to check availability online.
2. Communication barriers –Many users wanted the ability to communicate with their healthcare providers via secure chat or messaging, rather than relying on phone calls or waiting for email responses
3. Confusing appointment process – The lack of effective reminders and complicated scheduling led to patients either forgetting their appointments or double-booking them

2. Define

User Persona

I created a user persona to better understand and represent our target audience, guiding our design to meet their specific needs.

User Journey Map

Next, I created user journey maps to visualize the steps users took to find a provider and manage appointments. This helped identify pain points at each stage of their interaction with healthcare services.

Based on the define phase, here are some opportunities for Improvement:

• Simplify the provider search process with detailed profiles and availability.
• Enhance in-app communication tools for a better connection with therapists.
• Offer flexible scheduling and appointment management features.

3. Develop

How might we…

How might we design a platform that makes it easier for patients to find healthcare providers, improve communication, and simplify appointment booking?"

Using research insights, I identified three key opportunities to improve the user experience:

Simplify Provider Search → Implement real-time availability and advanced filters (specialties, ratings, location).

Enhance Communication → Add secure chat and video call options for seamless provider-patient interaction.

Streamline Appointment Booking → Introduce step-by-step scheduling and reminders to prevent missed appointments.

Brainstorming and Sketching

I created low-fidelity sketches to test basic user flows, then iterated into mid-fidelity wireframes using Figma.

Mid-fi Wireframes

Key Features in Wireframes:

Search Filters → Users can filter providers by specialty, availability, and ratings.

In-App Chat & Video Calls → Secure messaging allows quick interactions with providers.

Simplified Scheduling Flow → Step-by-step process with clear instructions and reminders.

4. Deliver

Usability Testing

I conducted two rounds of usability testing with 10 participants per round.

Tasks given:

• Search for a specific provider.
• Start a chat with a provider.
• Schedule or reschedule an appointment.

Key Findings:

1. Provider Search:
• Issue: Users struggled to locate the right providers due to limited search options.
• Solution: Added advanced filters (specialty, location, availability) & provider reviews.
• Impact: Task success rate: 60 % of users successfully found a provider within 2 minutes
2. Communication tools:
• The initial chat interface was too cluttered,
• Users had difficulty finding how to start a conversation.
• Instructions for starting and managing communication sessions were unclear
3. Appointment Management:
• Issue: Users were unclear about scheduling steps, leading to missed or double-booked appointments.
• Solution: Added step-by-step guidance and reminders for upcoming appointments.
• Task Success Rate: 55% of users successfully completed the appointment scheduling task without issues

Iteration

• Added advanced filters for specialties, ratings, location, and availability.
• Make provider profiles more detailed and informative to help users make informed choices.

• Simplified chat interface and improved navigation
• Added clearer instructions for using chat, call, and video call features.

• Simplified the scheduling process with clearer instructions and reminders.

2nd Round of Usability Testing

Task Success Rate: 85% of participants successfully found a provider within 2 minutes (up from 60%).

User Feedback:

• “The new filters made it so much easier to find the exact provider I needed.”
• “I liked that I could see reviews right next to the provider profiles—it saved me a lot of time.”

Design System

1. Color Palette:

1. Blue were chosen to represent trust, calm, and health.

Typography:

2. Urbanist font ensures readability across all devices.

Conclusion

Final Result

15% Increase in User Satisfaction (measured through pre/post usability surveys).

30% Reduction in Time Spent Finding Providers (due to visible availability & filters).

Improved Task Success Rates by 25% (users completed key actions more efficiently).

Participant Feedback

“The new filters made it so much easier to find the exact provider I needed.”

“Before this app, I often gave up on scheduling appointments because it was too frustrating. Now, I can easily find a provider and book in minutes.”

“The chat feature made it easy to get quick answers from my provider without waiting on hold.”

What I Would Have Done Differently:

• Involve Healthcare Providers Earlier → Align their needs with patient expectations for a balanced experience.
• Test with a Broader Audience → Expand usability testing to include older users and non-tech-savvy patients.
• Add Onboarding Tutorials → Provide in-app guidance for first-time users to reduce the learning curve.

Key Takeaways:

• Effective Communication Matters: Early collaboration ensures features meet real-world needs.
• Prioritization Drives Impact: Tight deadlines meant focusing on high-impact changes.
• Small UI Details Matter: Minor tweaks (e.g., button placement, clearer labels) significantly improved usability.

Next Steps:

• Further optimize the continuity of care with integrated health records.
• Reduce no-show rates through smart reminders and provider-patient coordination.
• Enhance trust in telehealth through ongoing user feedback and feature expansion.

Challenges

Conclusion

The VirtualCare App transformed the patient experience, making healthcare more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly. By leading the UX research and design, I helped improve provider search, communication, and scheduling. Ultimately, increasing user satisfaction, reducing frustration, and making healthcare access seamless.

This project not only addressed COVID-era challenges but also set a foundation for the future of telehealth.