GetHealth: a case study in finding the right healthcare provider
When I moved to San Francisco in September of 2019, I had to find new insurance, new doctors, and jump through hoops just to get a new prescription for my migraines. The system is incredibly slow, which is a huge problem for people who are sick right now. I wanted to design an app that would help solve that problem.
The hypothesis:
Patients need a way to easily find a doctor in their network because the process is daunting and time-consuming
The goal:
Design an app that will allow patients to find an in-network doctor and make an appointment in ten minutes
My responsibilities:
User research and competitive analysis
User flows, wireframes, and prototyping
Information architecture and UX writing
Usability testing
Visual design
Let’s break it down.
I interviewed four people between the ages of 27 and 35
I chose this demographic based on a poll I conducted on social media. People below this demographic didn't go to the doctor enough, and people above this demographic had already found someone they were happy with
User Research
“I avoided going to the doctor for seven years because the process of finding one is so daunting. The only reason I’m seeing a doctor now is because I got pregnant.”
The Goals:
Learn why users seek out a new doctor and how they're currently solving the problem
What are their pain points?
What are they looking for in a healthcare provider?
What I learned:
Every user cross-referenced health insurance portals with at least two other sites
Insurance portals are confusing and the information is often incorrect/outdated
"Reviews for doctors aren't reliable"
What surprised me:
Several people said they actually like going to the doctor!
Every user had asked a friend or family member for a referral and two used Slack
Finding the right fit turned out to be incredibly important, and that meant something different for every person.
The typical user
She’s starting to have more health concerns and wants to find a doctor without all the hassle
29 years old
Director of Diversity and Inclusion in SF
Creative background
ENFP
Healthcare Stories
She’s had to find a new PCP multiple times: moving, changing jobs, changing insurance
Likes going to the doctor because it relieves anxiety, but the process of finding a doctor is daunting
Behaviors
Looks up doctors in her network via her insurance portal, then Googles doctors to read reviews
Utilizes her social network to find trustworthy doctors
Goals and Needs
Wants to find a doctor she’s comfortable with
Price transparency is a pain point
Wants to find a doctor nearby
Sizing up the competition
I analyzed eight companies (including health insurance portals) that were attempting to solve this problem, but ZocDoc and WebMD were the two that came up the most in my user interviews.
Something’s missing!
Neither of these apps addressed the two biggest insights I kept hearing over and over again in my research: personalized search and getting reliable reviews. These are two direct quotes from my interviews:
"I wish I could get a better sense of my doctor without having to meet them in person"
"There's nothing that replaces a friend recommendation"
Charting the path
At this point I was itching to put pen to paper! I designed a user flow and sketched some wireframes. Based on my research, I decided the key task would be reading reviews about a doctor. I also added a bonus feature of seeing reviews from friends/people in the user’s network.
My analysis uncovered that few competitors are focused on helping the user choose the right doctor. Inspired by the onboarding experience at TalkSpace, I decided to add a "get matched" feature
Seeking validation
The moment of truth: I put my paper prototype to the test. Then I designed digital wireframes based on my findings, and conducted a second round of testing. Total participants: 5
But how does it make you feel?
“I don’t care if my doctor is friendly, I just want them to be competent”
— User Interview
