My Health Record
My Health Record: Enhancing User Adoption in Clinical Settings
UX Research
Overview
About My Health Record
My Health Record (MHR) is a secure online summary of a patient's health information, accessible to both healthcare providers and patients. It aims to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare by ensuring patient information is available when and where it's needed.
My Role
In collaboration with a researcher from the Australian Digital Health Agency, I conducted a three-day contextual inquiry at a medical practice, followed by two weeks of data synthesis. Our goal was to observe and analyse how doctors and patients interact with MHR in real-world clinical environments. We employed in-field observations and interviews, developed personas and journey maps, and worked closely with the design team to identify opportunities for improving MHR's accessibility and integration into clinical workflows.
The Problem
Prior to this study, the Australian Digital Health Agency had not conducted contextual inquiries with My Health Record. There was a need to understand the practical challenges and usability issues faced by clinicians and patients when using MHR in real-life healthcare settings.
Design Challenge
Identify usability barriers and workflow disruptions in the integration of My Health Record into existing medical practices and propose solutions to enhance its accessibility and efficiency for both clinicians and patients.
My Process
User Research
Methods: Conducted on-site field research, including direct observation of clinicians during patient consultations and in-depth interviews with both doctors and patients.
Findings:
Clinicians experienced difficulties accessing past records efficiently, leading to increased administrative tasks.
There were significant information gaps between MHR and the clinics' internal systems, causing workflow disruptions.
Patients often had to provide medical histories verbally, increasing the risk of errors and prolonging consultations.
Personas & Journey Mapping
Personas: Developed detailed personas representing typical users, such as 'Dr. Samantha Green,' a time-pressured GP needing seamless integration of MHR into her workflow.
Journey Maps: Created journey maps for scenarios like recurring and new patients, highlighting pain points such as difficulty in accessing comprehensive medical histories and the time-consuming nature of updating records.
Ideation
I facilitated design ideation sessions, presenting research-based questions and insights to the design team at the Australian Digital Health Agency.
“I’m excited about My Health Record, but our system is cluttered, and I’m short on time. Explaining its benefits is tough, as many patients either don’t see the value or worry about privacy, making sign-ups difficult.”
Solutions
My primary role was UX research, but the findings and ideation sessions had a significant impact on My Health Record.
Automated Uploads
My Health Record implemented automated uploads to reduce doctors' workloads.
Tools For Adoption
My Health Record launched a YouTube channel to educate both doctors and patients, emphasising the importance of design beyond UI to drive adoption.
Outcomes
Business Impact
Improved Workflow Efficiency: Proposed solutions aimed at reducing administrative burdens, allowing clinicians to focus more on patient care.
Enhanced Data Accuracy: Streamlined processes intended to minimise manual data entry errors, leading to more reliable patient records.
Increased Patient Engagement: Educational tools designed to help patients better understand and engage with their health information.
Personal Learnings
The importance of contextual inquiry in uncovering real-world usability issues that are not apparent in controlled environments.
The value of collaborative synthesis of research findings to develop actionable insights and user-centred design solutions.
Recognising the critical role of seamless integration between new digital tools and existing systems in enhancing user adoption and satisfaction.
