Designed a human-centered patient portal for a major US health system at IDEO, replacing a decade-old EHR interface. User satisfaction scores for appointment management jumped from 2.1 to 4.6 out of 5.
A large US regional health system had a patient-facing portal built in 2009 that patients described as 'impossible to use.' Appointment no-show rates were 28% — far above the 15% national average — and the IT helpdesk received 800+ portal-related calls per month.
Understand root causes of portal abandonment through research, then design a replacement experience that reduces no-show rates and lowers support burden.
Conducted 30 patient interviews across 3 clinics, including elderly and low-digital-literacy populations. Ran co-design workshops with front-desk staff. Synthesized into 5 key insight themes. Prototyped and tested 3 rounds of concepts with 42 patients. Delivered a full Figma spec and design system handoff with engineering.
Pilot launch at 2 clinics showed appointment no-show rate drop from 28% to 16%. Patient satisfaction for scheduling rose from 2.1 to 4.6/5. Helpdesk call volume fell 55%. Health system adopted design across all 11 locations.
Rollout
All 11 locations
No-show Rate
28% → 16%
Helpdesk Calls
-55%
Patient Satisfaction
2.1 → 4.6 / 5