PatientConnect App

Project proposal, literature review

Our app aims to help patients support the timely communication of their test results by allowing users to set reminders and notifications to seek follow-up, book appointments, or just take medications. The app aims to educate, empower, and encourage users to advocate for themselves throughout their diagnosis and treatment process. By informing users to expect, the app allows users to recognize when the healthcare system may have overlooked them, so they can speak up and ensure they receive optimal care. 

We selected this issue because clinical deterioration is a leading cause of patient mortality in healthcare (Jones et al., 2013). Specifically, we focused on the failure to communicate/respond to critical test results (CTR) including timely administration, review, action, follow-up, and communication of significant diagnostic test results by healthcare providers which can result in professional liability/malpractice claims (Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada [HIROC], 2016).

We assumed users to healthcare workers and patients in Ontario who use an iPhone. The app would have to meet patient information security requirements. To gain a deeper understanding of the problem, we benchmarked with Dot Health and Patient Access, conducted an informal literature review, and heard from Trevor Hall from HIROC.

Requirements analysis, personas, scenarios, and use cases

We identified requirements for the app which prototypes will be designed and selected based on.

• Track symptoms

• Send notifications

• Manage appointments

• Transmit data

• User accounts

• Maintain patient log

• Usability (UI/UX design)

• Inform users

• Connect users

• Appropriate dialogue

• Operating system

• Security

We identified the primary users to be patients and their caretakers, secondary users to be healthcare workers, and tertiary users to be competing services. Then, we created three personas with corresponding scenarios and use cases.

Low-fidelity prototypes, usability testing & design changes

Each member individually designed a low-fidelity prototype. Each home screen is shown below.

The first and the third prototypes were selected for usability testing. Four participants were each provided steps to complete four tasks on both prototypes while thinking out loud followed by and evaluation questionnaire. Since users made fewer errors, spent less time, and felt more confident using the first prototype, it was selected to be refined into a high-fidelity prototype.

High-fidelity prototype & heuristic evaluation

A demonstration of the high-fidelity prototype is at 4:41 in the video presentation below.

We completed a heuristic evaluation of the high-fidelity prototype using Nielsen's heuristics. The app always shows the user where they are and provides users flexibility in navigation. The simple icons indicate that system status are consistent throughout this app and match the real world. However, the current high-fidelity prototype is still lacking and additional iterations of this app would include better error prevention, recognition, diagnosis, and recovery along with detailed help and documentation.