Overview
INTRODUCTION
​Estera is one of Integra's EHR applications. It is a digital version of a patient's paper medical chart. It contains a patient's complete health history, including their medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory test results. This product is used by healthcare providers, such as hospitals and clinics, to store and manage patient information. Estera offers several advantages, including easy access to patient records, improved accuracy, and the ability to share patient data with authorized healthcare professionals securely.
UX Designer
MY ROLE
As a UX Designer on this project, I was responsible for conducting interviews with healthcare providers, utilizing insights obtained from these interviews and feature evaluation sessions with users to create wireframes and prototypes, to validate design concepts.
Estera was designed to enhance patient care, streamline administrative processes, and support data-driven decision-making in healthcare. Healthcare practices can frequently experience slowdowns and difficulties in moving efficiently between patients due to a variety of reasons we will uncover below.
JIRA STORY
"As a user, I need to be able to access and locate patient notes from specific dates more efficiently. I am currently able to do so in a timely manner."
PROBLEM
Based on user feedback, healthcare providers are struggling to efficiently access and view specific patient notes within the electronic health record (EHR) due to the overwhelming display of all patient notes from all time periods. This inundation of information is hindering the healthcare provider's ability to quickly access relevant patient information and provide timely care.
OBJECTIVE & GOAL
What are we trying to achieve and why?
The main objective is to make adjustments to a feature in the EHR. A feature frequently complained about.
​
Our goal is to Implement a feature to help healthcare providers provide timely care for their patients, and decrease potential risks of errors that could lead to extreme irreversible repercussions. Eliminate risks of lawsuits due to possible errors made when entering patient notes.
SOLUTION
Structuring information in a logical and user-friendly way. Improve the end user's experience by implementing a feature to help providers locate patient notes from a specific date & time, filter notes by selected time periods, eliminate delays caused by this inefficiency.
USER INTERVIEWS
We conducted interviews with Registered Nurses to gain a deeper understanding of their daily challenges related to Product Inefficiencies. They generously shared their concerns below.
-
What challenges have the inefficiencies in Patient Notes presented for you?
"The inefficiencies in patient notes consume valuable time and hinder our ability to achieve our objectives. Locating progress notes for documentation becomes arduous due to their lack of conciseness, leading to a scattered information structure. I would prefer if the notes were more concise. Perhaps, if there were a way to categorize or sort the items. Otherwise, I often find myself sifting through records dating back as much as 5 years."
-
What risks are associated with this inundation?
"Inadequate organization can lead to confusion, making it challenging to comprehend the patient's condition and deliver the necessary care. The potential for errors significantly rises, jeopardizing both my professional responsibilities and the well-being of the patient. Furthermore, it impacts my ability to attend to all my patients for that day."
-
What are the consequences of making an error?
"An error can result in harm to the patient. The severity of the mistake may dictate the extent of the consequences, potentially ranging from patient harm to hospital legal actions, depending on the gravity of the misunderstanding."
-
What are the risks involved when you are unable to see all the
patients on a given day?
"If I cannot attend to all my patients on a given day, it can lead to prolonged patient stays or heightens the risk of infection or patient mortality. In a worst-case scenario, this situation could even jeopardize my professional license."
-
How much time are you expected to allocate to each patient during your rotations?
"I am required to dedicate 30 - 45 minutes to each patient. If I encounter difficulties in finding the necessary information, it necessitates asking additional questions, which, in turn, involves seeking out the doctor or nurse who interacted with the patient on their admission date. This substantial inconvenience can lead to delays of 2 - 6 hours, far exceeding the usual 30 minutes to 45 minute time frame."
USER PERSONA
Jennifer Jones, RN
"I love my job as a Registered Nurse. It warms my heart to know that I play a big role in patient care. The only barrier between me doing my job are software inefficiencies"
ABOUT
Jennifer is compassionate and caring, which helps her connect with patients and their families. She thrives on finding solutions, especially in high-pressure situations. She works collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to provide the best care. At the end of a long day, Jennifer looks forward to getting home to her husband and her dog Coco.
NEEDS
Jennifer needs a user-friendly EHR system that streamlines the documentation process. Balancing patient care, administrative tasks, and self-care requires effective time management. Jennifer seeks a balance between her demanding work and personal life.
Age: 30
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Status: Married
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
FRUSTRATIONS
Jennifer often faces time pressure due to a high patient load and administrative tasks. She frequently encounters critically ill patients. Making quick and accurate decisions is crucial. Navigating EHR's efficiently while ensuring data accuracy can be a challenge.
USER SCENARIO
Jennifer is struggling to efficiently access and view specific patient notes within Estera due to the overwhelming display of all patient notes from all time periods. She has expressed her frustrations with the application and the inability to locate a specific note from a day her patient came in to the practice some time in July of the previous year.
This inundation of information is hindering Jennifer's ability to quickly access relevant patient information and provide timely care. She is not meeting her goal of meeting with a specific number of patients in a day. Some patients resorted to leave and return on an alternative date. This inconvenience could be avoided.
STRATEGY / ARCHITECTURE
This area of the process will provide the foundational structure and organization of this feature. It ensures that content is logically arranged, making it easier for users to navigate. This will also aid me as UX designer to develop a solid structure for the feature I am
working on, ensuring the concept aligns with the research and findings before the implementation phase. I can also use this to defend my decisions when I present the feature to the Product Team and Stakeholders.
CURRENT USER FLOW
.jpg)
REFINED USER FLOW
.jpg)
KEY OUTCOMES
-
Increased user satisfaction among healthcare providers
-
Patient documentation process has improved
-
Minimized delays
-
Access to patient information is more efficient
-
Less time spent on each patient.
For a better viewing experience, please click the button below to view the Figma prototype.
BEFORE REFINEMENT
-
Access and Ease: Before enhancements, only 40% of our healthcare providers found it hassle-free to access and navigate patient notes within the EHR.
-
Time Efficiency: Healthcare providers reported they were dedicating an average of 30 minutes per patient appointment due to hurdles in retrieving and updating patient notes.
-
Provider Happiness: 60% of healthcare providers expressed their frustrations and dissatisfaction with the note-taking process.
-
Documentation Precision: Accurate documentation was achieved in only 55% of patient notes, including missing information.
​
-
Patient Care Delays: Around 20% of patient appointments faced delays in care due to an inefficient way to search previous patient note entries.
AFTER REFINEMENT
-
Access and Ease: Healthcare providers provided positive feedback regarding their experience in navigating patient notes within the EHR
-
Time Efficiency: Time spent per patient appointment has been reduced to an average of 15 minutes, resulting in improved efficiency.
-
Provider Satisfaction: Based on user feedback, user satisfaction with the EHR system has undergone a significant transformation.
-
Documentation Precision: The new documentation process has eliminated the number of potential errors made by providers when entering information about patients.
​
-
Patient Care Delays: Patient care delays have decreased, leading to smoother and timelier patient care.