Healthloop

Role

User Researcher

Style Guide Designer

UX/UI Designer

Team

2 UI/UX Designers,

1 Product Manager,

3 Developers

Timeline

Mar 2021 - Sept 2021

6 months

TangNing is a Shanghai-based healthcare company that launched HealthLoop during the COVID-19 lockdown to offer remote healthcare for senior patients with chronic illnesses in local communities. With hospitals overwhelmed and in-person visits restricted, HealthLoop facilitated contactless check-ups, ensuring continuous care throughout the pandemic. As a full-time designer on a six-person team, I contributed to an app that connects users with local health hubs, designed in collaboration with an external industrial agency.

Project Objectives

Simplify Appointment Booking: enables senior patients to navigate and book virtual appointments with doctors easily.
Health Tracking & Monitoring: provides tools for patients to track and monitor their health with personalized updates and reminders.

Impact

We streamlined the user flow for booking virtual appointments with doctors, making it easy for users to connect with local HealthLoop facility hubs equipped with health check devices to monitor their conditions when needed.

85%

Appointment Booking Efficiency

Reduced appointment booking time from 30 minutes to 3 minutes.

96%

Positive Feedback

Users felt confident with the app and found the data visualization helpful for health monitoring.

During the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, residents were confined to their communities and had to stay home for months, with only access to community facilities. Patients with chronic conditions requiring regular health check-ups could not visit hospitals due to the lockdown, resulting in a lack of necessary medical care.

Challenges in Chronic Care During COVID-19 Lockdown

Project Problem

Booking Virtual
Appointment with Doctor

This feature allows users to seamlessly schedule virtual appointments with doctors, guiding them through a simple, step-by-step process to select a time, doctor, and receive confirmation.

Design Highlight #1

Solution

An app that enables seniors to easily book virtual doctor appointments, find nearby HealthLoop hubs for chronic disease management, and to track health monitoring through a dashboard.

Find Nearby Healthhub for checkup

Users can easily locate nearby health hubs for in-person check-ups through an interactive map or list, with essential details such as services offered, ratings, and directions.

Design Highlight #2

Dashboard to monitor health metrics

The health monitor dashboard provides users with a comprehensive view of critical health metrics, including blood sugar and blood oxygen levels, enabling them to track and manage their cardiovascular health effectively.

Design Highlight #3

Background

Context for CVD in China

During the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, remote monitoring became essential for management and timely intervention when in-person care was restricted, resulting in the rise of telehealth hubs or clinics in communities for health checks.

My goal is to create high-fidelity interactive prototypes for engineering, leading to initial user testing. However, we face constraints of a limited budget and tight timeline, challenging us to design a cost-effective, user-friendly mobile app that meets our business objectives.

Project timeline

Discovering Pain Points from Interviews

Upon joining, I caught up with the project by evaluating 25 interviews of seniors with chronic disease and learning the challenges they face and the corresponding solutions Healthloop has come up with.

Understanding User Challenges in COVID

Since understanding the patient experience requires specialized domain knowledge, I conducted a field study to observe the user journey for patients visiting the hospital.

User
Research

How might we help senior patients with chronic illnesses access safe and convenient virtual healthcare without requiring frequent hospital visits?

Design Goal

"I need to monitor my heart condition, but I don’t have any health monitoring equipment at home and I’m too worried about getting infected to visit the hospital."

Age: 69 | Location: Shanghai | Medical History: Chronic CVD, diabetes

Ming Lee

No health monitoring devices like blood pressure or oxygen meters at home.
Avoids hospital visits due to fear of COVID-19 infection and overcrowded facilities.

Track health metrics (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) safely from home or nearby hubs.
Access virtual doctor appointments easily to manage CVD without hospital visits.

Pain points

Goals

Target
User

Interior Virtual Face time with Doctor.png

What happens when users need health check equipment?

When users need access to health check equipment, they can use the app to find a nearby Healthloop hub in their community and book an appointment. At the Healthloop hub, they can utilize designated health check equipment for chronic diseases and consult a doctor virtually, or they can book a virtual appointment directly through their phone for ongoing health monitoring and guidance.

Design Decisions

Site Map: Prioritizing Accessible and Simple Health Checkups

Healthloop should highlight an easy booking process on the homepage, allowing seniors to connect with medical professionals and track their health effortlessly.

Design
Concept

High-fidelity Prototype

Book Appointment Flow with Virtual Doctor

1. Schedule CTA on Home Page

2. Schedule Now Page

3. Doctor Info Page

4. Select Date & Time

Feature 2: Find Nearby HealthHub for In-Person Health Checkups

Feature 3: Health Monitor Dashboard to Track Essential Metrics

old asian man with glasses white hair, pure background, minimal cartoon.jpg

Uncovering Edge Cases in User Testing

We conducted usability tests on our hi-fi prototype with 6 participants to identify system issues and track task completion times. Notably, a 75-year-old participant frequently relied on his daughter for assistance, highlighting the need for family support in managing medical tasks.

"My daughter often assists me with my medical issues, so I want to keep her updated."

User
Testing

My Takeaways

As a natural optimist, I often focus on creating a "happy path" in my designs. This project taught me to consider edge cases, revealing the importance of understanding not just the direct user needs, but also the support systems they rely on.

Incorporating the Family Assistance feature filled a critical gap that greatly improved the user experience. Additionally, aligning stakeholders around data-driven decisions was essential in shaping the final product.