Saluber - Helping ambulance drivers handle non-emergency rides.

My role
Product designer
Team
6 people
Date
May 2020
Duration
6 months
Responsibilities
Wireframing, Prototipying, User Interface design,
Project type
B2B

CONTEXT

Each year thousands of patients miss one or more medical appointments due to the complexity of the ambulance booking process. Even though customer are successful in reserving a medical vehicle or an ambulance, they often get stressence they cannot be sure of the exact ETA (estimated time of arrival).

While the problem of missed medical appointments due to complex ambulance booking processes is clear, let's dive deeper into its impact:

Patient health risks
Missed appointments can lead to delayed treatments, worsening conditions, and increased health complications.
Inefficient resource allocation
Ambulances and medical staff time are wasted, potentially affecting emergency response times.
Economic burden
The healthcare system incurs significant costs from unused resources and rescheduling.

Saluber is an open digital platform that offers medical businesses a better way to manage medical health transportation and enables customers to save valuable time and frustration.

After a productive brainstorming session, the client and I came up with the idea of a platform with 4 distinct components, each tailored to a different audience:

A tablet app
A product that medical staff will use to facilitate booking non-emergency transportation for patients who are unable to reach the medical facility on their own.
A mobile app
A product for ambulance drivers to help them receive and manage new non-emergency ride requests. The app will have built-in GPS navigation to help users arrive at their destination without leaving the current app.
A website
An online business card to promote the product with new partners and final customers
A digital product
A product that allows customers to book healthcare transportation independently, eliminating the hassle of phone calls. Later, we decided to integrate it as an embedded chatbot on the client's website.

As the product designer, I led the design and development of all four products. This case study will focus on the driver’s mobile application and its user experience.

Understanding  the users’ needs and goals

First of all, I was able to categorize our users into one level audience: The drivers

After diving into their routine (yes, I went with them onboard of the ambulance) I could visualize a user story and better understand their needs and pain points during the day.

What they said

"Reaching the exact address of our customer isn't always as simple as we imagine, maybe the patient is not waiting for us where we are expecting."
Mario, 59
Head of drivers team
"When we receive a request via radio we can't figure out all the details of the trip. It could be nice to see the entire route before accepting."
Saverio, 45
Driver
"Sometimes it happens that I receive a requests when I'm not on the vehicle and I've to rush in order to get the call, It's kind of stressing stuff.."
Ornella, 32
Driver

It came clear the user (driver) had 3 main challenges.

CHALLENGE 1
How to
get ride details?
Drivers find it tricky to get all the details about the ride via radio and note it. They also need to always be in the vehicle to get a call, so they find it complicated to handle calls when they're not onboard.
CHALLENGE 2
How to
reach the client?
Despite the driver's knowledge of the area, it can be tricky to reach specific destinations without a GPS navigator (not all drivers own a smartphone or want to use their own)
CHALLENGE 3
How to
handle all the steps?
Drivers need an easy way to give updates about their position to both the system and the patient while driving the vehicle.

I began with rough sketches to identify gaps and explore integration opportunities to save costs. Then, I moved to low-fidelity wireframes in Figma, mapping out the user flow and uncovering alternative paths. This process facilitated stakeholder feedback, aligning the product vision early on.

SOLUTION 1

Driver dashboard

I designed a centralized dashboard, the first thing that drivers see whenever they log in to the app.

It's the control center for everyday management tasks, right away at their finger tips. It helps the drivers receive updates in real time, whether they’re in or out of the vehicle.

This not only eliminated the need for radio communication but also streamlined information handling, reducing errors and allowing drivers to focus on safe, efficient transport.

In the initial phase, the client tested the project with 6 ambulances. After analyzing the drivers' challenges, we proposed equipping each vehicle with Android smartphones due to their affordability, suitable screen size, and reliable battery life. We hard-locked each phone to our app to prevent distractions and ensure they were used exclusively for navigation.

SOLUTION 2

Turn by turn

GPS navigation

To solve the problem of drivers struggling with navigation, we integrated Google Maps’ turn-by-turn navigation directly into our Android app.

We chose this solution after extensive research to avoid the effort of building a custom navigation tool from scratch, ensuring reliability and ease of use for the drivers. The integration with Google Maps provides real-time directions, live traffic updates, and rerouting options, addressing the navigation challenges drivers faced.

SOLUTION 3

Dynamic button

real time ride update

I designed a dynamic button which changes color and label based on the driver’s current status.

Light blue while the vehicle is on movement

Green when the vehicle approaches to the pick-up and drop-off point.

Additionally, the color of the navigation path changes to enhance clarity—light blue when heading to the pick-up point and dark blue when the vehicle reaches the drop-off point.

User testing

and iteration

We conducted extensive user testing performing internal testing with stakeholders and team members acting as proxy users. This process led to several key improvements:

‍

Simplified navigation

It reduced the number of steps required to accept a ride based on feedback.

Enhanced status updates

The dynamic button was a direct result of user feedback about the need for quick, clear status changes.

Improved readability

I adjusted font sizes and color contrasts to ensure better visibility in various lighting conditions, crucial for drivers on the road.

IMPACT MEASUREMENT

As part of my collaboration with the project manager, I identified the following key metrics that would be used to measure the project's impact on user experience and business goals.

Usability Metrics

Response time

Measure the average time it takes for drivers to accept or decline ride requests

Error rate

Monitor the frequency of user errors, particularly during critical processes like ride acceptance or navigation

Task completion rate

Measure the percentage of users who can successfully complete key tasks within the app, such as accepting a ride or updating their status

Project Success Metrics

Reduction in missed appointments

Aim to achieve the projected 30% reduction in missed medical appointments

Driver efficiency

Measuring improvements in navigation and reduction in driving time due to the integrated GPS system

Patient satisfaction

Conduct surveys to assess the increase in patient satisfaction due to more reliable transportation

LEARNINGS

Working on the Saluber project was an invaluable experience, as it had the potential to make a meaningful impact on healthcare transportation. Collaborating closely with project managers, developers, fellow designers, clients, and drivers significantly enhanced my communication skills and reinforced the importance of stakeholder alignment in creating impactful solutions.

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