Project 01
Athenahealth
Pregnancy Lab Data Management, a tool empowering obstetricians to seamlessly record and track pregnancy-related lab data.
In the summer of 2023, I interned as a UX designer on athenahealth's specialties team, where I led the design of a tool for obstetricians to easily document, track, and analyze lab results. This streamlined interface improves workflow efficiency, ensuring accurate, up-to-date patient information and supporting better patient care during pregnancy.
Info 02
Team
Obstetricians Labs Team | Watertown, MA
Role
Lead UX Designer and Researcher
Timeline
10 weeks | Summer 2023
Collaborators
5 Developers
1 Product Manager
UX Researcher and Designer
Goal
Project Overview
03
Problem
Obstertricians need to record results of a patient's laboratory data during pregnancy and they need a more efficient way to organize, visualize and find labs relevant to each OB visit.
Determine how to best display the lab results to make the OB Labs table more useful and identify what other functionalities providers need.
Pain Points
Table is one long list that requires a lot of scrolling and clicks for providers to find what they need
Table is read-only – any actions that a provider needs to take must be done in another document
Heading organization does not match standard industry patternsThe table is read-only – any actions that a provider may want to take need to happen on the lab result document itself
Old Labs Table
04
Understanding the Users
Research
Exploring Lab Categorization Options for Improved Pregnancy Care
During the first round of our research and design process, our primary objective was to explore various ways of categorizing the different pregnancy laboratories. I generated four distinct options for organizing these labs, which included categorization based on trimesters, lab status, or division into initial, genetic screening, ultrasound, and routine labs.
After drafting the designs I carried out 5 Interviews with Midwife, NP, Physicians – Combination of large practices, small practices
“It is so difficult to navigate the Labs table. It takes me so long to find the lab that I want”
-OB clinician
By stage
By trimester
By progress
Ultrasound seperation
During the research phase, I engaged with various stakeholders, including midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians from both large and small practices. Each participant shared unique perspectives and concerns regarding the management of laboratory data in pregnancy care.
Through careful synthesis of their feedback, I was able to identify key themes and patterns that informed my design approach.
Research outcome
Misalignment of categories: Providers don't expect Ultrasound and Imaging to be listed under Labs.
Gestational age relevance: Providers prefer using gestational age over just the date.
Valuable sections: Initial Labs, Genetic Screening, and Standard Labs were considered the most useful.
Competitive Analysis
To identify gaps in the current Labs table experiences, I examined popular applications, specifically Dorsata, Cerner and eClinicalsWorks. This analysis helped me pinpoint potential areas for improvement and gather inspiration for enhancements.
No categories for labs
No categories or sections
Visit based categories
Key insight: No competitor had a better solution
Design
05
I gained valuable insights from the research participants and identified numerous opportunities to improve the design. However, due to time constraints, we couldn’t implement all the changes in one go. I prioritized the most impactful features for the MVP—those we were most confident about—and deferred the remaining improvements to a future iteration.
Goals for MVP design
Address main pain point of heading organization
Quick and easy to build
Build on existing designs
MVP features
Key Finding
Design Decision
Providers do not expect to see Ultrasound and Imaging falling under Labs .
Created separate section for Ultrasound/Imaging
Gestational age can sometimes be more useful than date
Reorganized table into these three distinct sections
Most useful design included Initial labs , Genetic screening, Standard Labs sections under Labs
Impact
Added dedicated gestational age column next to dates
Reduced navigation errors by aligning with providers' mental models
Reduced scrolling time by grouping related information and Improved scan-ability of lab results
Eliminated need for mental calculations of gestational age allowing for faster assessment of test timing appropriateness
MVP Design Outcome
I passed my design to developers, and it was successfully shipped! Afterward, I continued to iterate on the design.
Design Handoff to Devs
After completing my design I went through a design handoff prcess with the developers which allowe dme to communicate and iterate on some of the feature
Consult with PM on team to confirm designs
Spec out designs and meet with developers to review designs
Update designs with feedback
Review and approve developer build prior to launch
Design Iteration
06
My goals for this itertaion of design was to adress the main 3 pain ponts by designing featiures that would help the pain points
Goals for iterations
Pain Point
Design feature to work on
Table is one long list that requires a lot of scrolling and clicks for providers to find what they need
Finding a way to show labs that trend over time
Table is read-only – any actions that a provider needs to take must be done in another document
Incorporating actions within the table.
Organization does not match standard industry patterns
Finding a way to presenting genetic screening.
During my second round of research, I aimed to better understand what additional features could improve the table for obstetricians. I conducted both qualitative and quantitative research across various roles, including Midwives, Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Physicians, and Medical Assistants (MAs). This research spanned a combination of large and small practices to gather comprehensive insights.
Research
Quantitative Research: Conducted Concept Validation Testing using Mid-Fi designs with a total of 20 responses.
Qualitative Research: Held 10 one-on-one interviews using Mid-Fi designs to gather deeper insights.
Design Exploration
Trending Labs design exploration
I designed 3 diffrent options for way to show trending labs. One with a graph, arrows and with a dropdows
Arrows
Dropdown
Graph/table icon
Early in the research, I discovered that the arrows were not desirable because they made the interface feel too cluttered.
There was no clear preference for the options presented; the main takeaway was that users wanted a way to visualize trends.
Since there was no clear winner from the users, I chose the option that would take less time to build, which was the graph or table icon.
Genetic screeing Design exploration
There was significant confusion about how to present genetic screening in the table, as many obstetricians had different viewpoints on the best approach. Through my research, I learned that genetic screening can be further divided into subcategories. My goal in exploring design options was to identify the most efficient way to display this information, allowing obstetricians to navigate it with ease.
One section
2 section under 2 different headings
2 section under the same heading
After the first few interviews, it became clear that the third option was repetitive, so for the remaining interviews, participants were shown only the first two options.
The research revealed that the first option, which featured a single genetic screening section, was the most preferred.
Actions in Table Design exploration
One of the biggest problems obstetricians faced was the need to click multiple times and be taken out of the table to input information. My goal for this design exploration was to determine which actions should be added directly into the table and how to implement them.
Previous research indicated that users wanted the ability to do all these directly in the table:
Review labs
Add notes
Mark when a patient declined to take a lab
Highlight high-risk labs
Add lab results
I developed three options to present during my research to address these needs.
take action button
dropdown action buttons
checkbox with action buttons at top of table
Users were unsure about the "Patient Declined" option and "Add New Results."
The language was confusing, and they were uncertain about adding a lab result without documentation.
Overall, users were more interested in the available actions rather than their locations in the table.
Next step: Future research could focus more on the specific actions users expect to see in the table, rather than their placement or location.
Other added features
Highlighted labs are displayed as pill-shaped indicators when the 'Labs' section is collapsed, making high-risk results immediately noticeable. This design helps obstetricians quickly identify critical information without expanding the section, saving time and drawing their immediate attention.
High risk labs
The Status column increases the table’s scannability by displaying labels such as 'Reviewed' and 'Ready to Review.' This allows obstetricians to quickly assess the current state of patient information, helping them prioritize tasks efficiently.
Status column
Editable notes directly within the table reduce the time spent on data entry by allowing obstetricians to quickly input or update information without navigating to separate sections. This streamlined approach enhances efficiency and ensures that important details are captured in real-time.
Editable notes
Final Design
07
Learnings and Takeaways
08
If I had more time I would :
Refine the sections further, including providing an option to differentiate between initial and standard lab results.
Conduct additional research to better understand the specific actions users want to take in the table, ensuring the interface meets their needs more effectively.
Explore new methods for highlighting lab results, such as using intuitive visual cues or interactive elements to draw attention to critical information without overwhelming the user, helping to improve efficiency in care.
Things I learned
Navigating complex problem spaces: I learned how to break down intricate issues into manageable components, ensuring that all aspects of the project are thoroughly considered and addressed.
Keeping the user’s needs at the core: I realized the importance of always prioritizing user needs in every design decision, ensuring the final product is intuitive, functional, and user-centered.
Effectively handing off designs to developers: I gained experience in communicating design intent clearly to developers, ensuring that the final product aligns with the original vision while accounting for technical feasibility and constraints.