Med24 - Reducing the friction into booking medical appointments in the UK.
CONTEXT
In the UK, especially in London, many individuals struggle to efficiently manage their own and their families' health needs. The current process for booking medical appointments is often tedious and frustrating, failing to guarantee timely care from suitable healthcare professionals.
Let's examine some of the pressing issues affecting healthcare providers and patients, and consider how these problems might be costing in terms of time, money, and health outcomes.
Med24 aims to empower online booking for medical appointments in the UK. This comprehensive platform tackles the complex challenges that both healthcare providers and patients face with the current appointment booking system.
After brainstorming with the client, it became clear that clinics and patients had distinct needs. Clinics required a comprehensive platform to manage appointments and patient data, while patients needed a more streamlined mobile solution for quick and easy bookings. This led us to develop 2 separate products:
As the product designer, I worked on the entire design process of the patient mobile app, which was my primary area of responsibility.
Understanding the users’ needs and goals
Without access to specific data on potential users (clinic patients) and without allocated budget for dedicated research activities, I drew conclusions based on research conducted by competitors based in the United Kingdom (OneMedical) and for comparison, in Italy (Miodottore).
This approach allowed me and the rest of the team to gain insights into user needs and behaviors in the healthcare booking sector, while working within the project's constraints.
Key needs
and goals
EFFICIENT APPOINTMENT BOOKIN
Users need fast scheduling with real-time availability, instant confirmation, and booking for family members.
TIMELY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Access to same-day appointments and virtual consultations for urgent needs is essential.
QUALITY HEALTHCARE
Users want to be matched with the right professionals based on specific conditions.
HEALTH MONITORING
A centralized platform to track personal and family health records, treatments, and appointments.
FLEXIBILE HEALTHCARE PLANS
Monthly or annual options for tailored individual or family healthcare plans.
EASY PAYMENTS
Secure online payments with multiple gateways, saved info, and clear billing.
By sharing low-fidelity wireframes early with the client, I was able to identify 3 crucial gaps in our proposed user flow
Identity
verification
To ensure a secure and compliant platform, together with the developers, we decided to strategically integrate Onfido, a reliable third-party identity verification service.
This decision streamlined the onboarding process, enhanced data security, and instilled greater user trust without requiring significant in-house development efforts.
Remote
consultations
In order to deliver a solid, reliable solution for the video consultation feature and respect both the budget and technical constraints, I conducted thorough research to identify the best technical partner. After evaluating several options, I found that Semble (formerly Heydoc) was the ideal fit. Their platform provided all the necessary video call functionalities, allowing us to integrate it seamlessly without needing to build a custom solution from scratch.
Moreover, Semble offered more than just video capabilities; it was also the perfect solution for clinic management. Its customizable white-label product enabled clinics to manage appointments and maintain detailed patient histories, ensuring a streamlined experience for both patients and clinics. This research-driven decision allowed us to offer a robust, end-to-end solution for both users and healthcare providers.
Payment
Clarity
To address this, I designed 2 distinct call-to-action labels for the services, clearly indicating whether it was included or required an additional fee. This improved clarity and helped users make informed decisions about their appointments.
IMPACT MEASUREMENT
Working with the project manager, I identified these key metrics that would measure both its impact on the user experience and business objectives.
Usability Metrics
REDUCTION IN BOOKING TIME
One key usability metric would have been how much the streamlined booking flow reduced the time needed to schedule an appointment. A goal of 25-30% reduction in booking time would indicate improved user experience and efficiency.
USER RETENTION AND ENGAGEMENT
The platform’s usability would have also been reflected in the rate of returning users and the frequency of use. Achieving a 15-20% increase in user retention would suggest that patients found ongoing value in Med 24 for managing their healthcare needs.
VIDEO CONSULTATION ADOPTION RATE
A critical usability metric would have been the percentage of appointments conducted through the video consultation feature. A growing adoption rate would signal that users found the option beneficial and convenient, particularly for minor issues that didn’t require in-person visits.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (NPS)
Usability would also have been measured through user feedback and Net Promoter Score (NPS). An upward trend in NPS would reflect patient satisfaction with the ease of use, service availability, and the overall booking experience.
Project Success Metrics
APPOINTMENT VOLUME GROWTH
Boosting appointment volume enhances business performance by increasing revenue and optimizing resource use. More patients mean clinics can maximize capacity, leading to higher profitability and improved service delivery.
REDUCTION IN ADMINISTRATIVE TIME
For clinics, success would be determined by how much time the platform saved in managing appointments and patient records. A 15-20% reduction in administrative workload would reflect Med 24’s effectiveness in improving clinic operations.
PATIENT REFERRAL RATE
Monitoring the increase in patient referrals can offer valuable insights into customer satisfaction and the platform's effectiveness in fostering word-of-mouth promotion. A higher referral rate would suggest that patients are satisfied with the service and are recommending it to others.
LEARNINGS
This experience strengthened my cross-functional collaboration skills, ensuring alignment and problem-solving at every stage, leveraging existing technologies to meet the client's objectives efficiently. By incorporating third-party solutions like Semble and Onfido, I was able to deliver a comprehensive and robust solution without the need for extensive custom development.
