UX | CX | Human AI Interaction
2024
My Role - Product Design Intern
In a healthcare landscape overwhelmed by data, Smart Note emerges as a revolutionary Clinical Intelligence Platform that reduces EHR review time by 70%, enabling physicians to focus more on patient care while making faster, informed clinical decisions.
Problem Statement
Healthcare Documentation Crisis:
Physicians Spend 5.2 Hours Daily on EHR Tasks
The healthcare industry loses $90 billion annually due to administrative burdens, with 70% of doctors spending more time on documentation than on patient care. In a field where minutes can save lives, this imbalance is not only inefficient, it's critical.
Qualitative Research
During the qualitative research phase, I had the unique opportunity to shadow oncologists and resident doctors during their daily routines. I observed their real-time interactions with patients and EHR systems. This nonintrusive observation revealed the constant juggling act between maintaining patient engagement and managing documentation requirements.
Following these shadow sessions, I conducted structured one-on-one interviews with 8 healthcare professionals, using a carefully crafted script to explore their specific challenges.
Below are the findings based on the study conducted
Quantitative Research
After shadowing the doctors, I sent out surveys to better understand how much time they spent navigating medical records. The results were eye-opening. The data revealed that doctors strongly value staying in control when it comes to making decisions about patient care.
These findings aligned with what we observed during our time in the clinic and helped us pinpoint exactly where Smart Note needed to focus.
One key pattern the research surfaced was that this is not solely a problem of data overload but of fighting for the human soul of healthcare. I learned, through shadowing and surveying physicians, that they were spending more time documenting care than actually providing it. What they want is not another digital tool but a trusted partner to free them up for what matters, the patient.
The overwhelming consensus was that there was a need for an intervention that could bridge the gap between comprehensive documentation and meaningful patient interaction.
Smart Note was born from this understanding and was envisioned to transform fragmented pieces of medical data into coherent, actionable patient stories while retaining the essential human touch in healthcare delivery.
The Experienced Guide: Dr. Ava, a 15+-year oncologist at Mayo Clinic, prioritizes patient connection but struggles with information overload. "I want every minute with my patients to matter."
The Clinical Researcher - Dr. Samir, an 8+ year oncologist balancing patient care and research, needs quick visual insights for informed decisions. "I need straightforward access to make the best decision, even in a busy clinic."
The Rising Resident - Dr. Leo, a 3+ year resident physician, requires swift access to patient information between appointments. "I need to zero in on key information fast, so I'm not missing anything critical."
These personas helped shape Smart Note's core features, ensuring our solution addresses diverse needs while maintaining the focus on enhanced patient care.
A Service Blueprint along with a Concept Mapping was also created to understand the pain point of Healthcare workers
Exploration of Ideas:
How I arrived at Smart Note
The journey to Smart Note began with a simple observation, doctors spending more time looking at screens than at their patients.
Through affinity mapping, concept mapping along with sketches and having continuous communication with the doctors, I explored and learnt various approaches
Initial Concepts
Voice-activated documentation assistant
AI-powered summary dashboard
Visual patient timeline tool
But the breakthrough came when I combined these elements, realizing that doctors needed more than just another tool. They needed a seamless companion that could think alongside them.
The concept of Smart Note emerged. An intelligent system that could understand, organize, and present patient information as naturally as a skilled medical assistant would.
Intuitive Clinical Documentation:
Designed With Doctors, For Doctors
Through extensive shadowing sessions with healthcare providers, I developed a streamlined documentation flow that mirrors their natural workflow.
The initial design focused on integrating data from EHR and summarizing it using AI and allowing them to edit the feature, allowing doctors to maintain eye contact with patients. At the same time, Smart Note intelligently captures and organizes clinical information in real time.
This approach emerged directly from observing doctors struggle to balance patient interaction with EHR documentation.
Streamlining Clinical Data
Through Smart Visualization and AI
Branding & Style Guide
I developed a preliminary style guide & design system for Smart Note while interning at the research lab, understanding the lack of established design guidelines. The system was inspired by Mayo Clinic's visual identity and focused on healthcare-specific needs.
It featured clear documentation of components, behaviors, and spacing rules to facilitate developer collaboration.
The design emphasized clinical usability with a professional aesthetic, Mayo Clinic's signature blue color palette, and typography optimized for medical data legibility.
Inspired by Clinical Workflows
A Clean, Intuitive, and Efficient Documentation Experience
Designing the high-fidelity screens revealed how crucial it was to make the documentation process seamless. Given the project's time-sensitive nature and my collaboration with the research lab at Mayo Clinic, I moved directly to detailed designs, which also helped me communicate better with the doctors.
With multiple elements like patient timelines, lab tests, and treatment plans competing for attention, there were too many opportunities for cognitive overload.
I focused on creating an intuitive interface that mimics natural clinical workflow, where critical information surfaces automatically based on context.
I designed 6 high-fidelity screens and dynamic components, focusing on the core patient documentation details and flow.
Each screen was carefully crafted in Figma.
Comprehensive Patient Management System with three main sections.
Interactive anatomical diagram with clickable points for various health concerns to help understand patients.
Search functionality, patient identification, and multiple view options (Anatomy View, All Testing, Source Documents).
A timeline view of oncology history, consultation department selection, and social determinants of the patient.
Care Plan with clear recommendations and assessments.
Key Medical Data is displayed with easy-to-read visualizations.
Clean, Uncluttered Layout that prioritizes important clinical information.
