Higi Virtual Health Stations
Connecting rural communities to care via biometric-measuring telehealth stations
Role: Lead designer | Responsibilities: UX, UI | Duration: 2023-Present
Challenge: Bridging the rural healthcare gap
Rural healthcare faces a critical access problem that affects both healthcare providers and patients.
Providers struggle to reach and maintain relationships with rural patients who can’t easily visit in-person
Rural patients struggle to establish consistent relationships with providers due to distance for in-person visits and connectivity issues for traditional telehealth visits
Opportunity: Empowering rural patients and providers with comprehensive remote care
Design an innovative remote healthcare experience that:
Enables patients in rural communities to access convenient, high-quality care that mimics an in-person healthcare visit
Enables providers to gain access to complete patient health data, high-quality connectivity to the patient, and remote biometric measurements
Product Currently in Market
Feel free to poke around the embedded Figma file below:
Solution:
In partnership with University of Rochester Medical Center, Higi placed 5 health stations in rural upstate NY as an MVP. These stations are available in private areas of accessible businesses in the community such as a YMCA, banks, and a senior living center.
My role was to design the intake experience prior to the patient beginning their telehealth visit on the health station. My approach was to have the user flow mimic an in-person visit as closely as possible.
The user flow includes:
Check-in & Authentication - Screener confirms patient identity and adds them to a queue, similar to checking in at a doctor’s office
Patient Intake - Questionnaire gathers demographic and insurance information, similar to filling out forms in-person
Vitals Collection - Self-service blood pressure, pulse, and weight measurement, similar to a nurse taking vitals before seeing the doctor
Telehealth Consultation - The provider receives comprehensive medical information, including vitals, that helps make an accurate diagnosis
Post-Visit Follow-up - User is sent a satisfaction survey link to their email inbox, similar to medical practices sending post-visit surveys
Key Results & User Adoption
KR 1: Get 30% of users who start the intake flow to complete it
32%
users who started the intake flow went on to complete it
KR 2: Get 80% of users who complete the intake flow to complete the telehealth visit
88%
users who completed the intake flow went on to complete the telehealth visit
KR 3: Get a minimum of 100 users to complete a telehealth visit (within 24 months)
23 users
completed a telehealth visit since its launch in June 2024
User Research
Usability Study, Sept. 2023
6 one-hour virtual interviews with registered Higi users. They were given a link to an interactive prototype which they moved through as questions were asked.
Research goal: Uncover any usability issues that might prevent users from successfully completing the booking flow
Phase of project: Post wireframes and before finalizing color mockups. Updates made based off study findings were made before the MVP went into development
Takeaways:
Participants were willing to go through a long questionnaire with the caveat that the information would be saved so they wouldn’t have to reenter for return visits
Not allowing the participants to select more than 1 insurance provider slowed them down and risked exiting the entire experience
It wasn’t clear to participants whether the provider they would be seeing would be through the URMC network or hired through Higi
Updates made:
When a repeat visitors logs in, their profile information is saved and they are automatically directed to a ‘review information’ screen before proceeding
After-Visit Survey, Ongoing
Sent shortly after a user successfully completes a telehealth visit with a provider. 8 out of 23 users have completed the after-visit survey as of June 2024.
Research goal: To assess patient satisfaction after connecting with a provider remotely so that we can identify improvement opportunities and inform future care protocols
Phase of project: Post-launch, providing real-time feedback
Takeaways:
63% of participants would recommend this product to others
An issue with audio was reported multiple times where the provider could hear them but the participant couldn’t hear the provider
76% of participants found their provider to be friendly and caring
Updates made:
Audio issues have since been addressed and resolved