Written by: Bruno Silva, Senior UX Engineer at LetsGetChecked
One of the most important elements of design in the healthcare industry is empathy. This means that we need to see the world through our patient's eyes — to try to understand how they may be feeling and make sense of the experience they may be going through. This is sometimes easier said than done but putting aside our own preconceptions and stepping inside the shoes of those who really matter helps us to continue to improve the patient experience at LetsGetChecked.
The key to designing with empathy
Did you know that empathy is actually the first recommended stage of the design thinking process? When we create the design and map out the user experience of our patients, we must always begin by gaining an understanding of who we are designing for. To do this, there are questions we can ask ourselves and things to consider:
1. How are patients when they reach us?
Understanding how our users are feeling when they make the decision to put their trust in us and take control of their health is vital to delivering a quality patient experience.
2. How can we meet them where they are?
Carrying out surveys, and questionnaires, and interviewing those who have experienced our service and product is crucial to meeting our customers where they are in their journey.
3. How do we add a human touch?
Adding a human touch is key to offering a patient-centric experience. LetsGetChecked’s personalized dashboards, digital test recommender, and accessible language put the power in the customer's hands.
4. How do we ensure the entire flow is a good experience?
Guiding our patients so they feel in control of the entire process is key to ensuring they have a comfortable and smooth experience with us from start to finish. This involves always approaching each step of the journey with the customer in mind, anticipating any questions they may have, and making each step from beginning to end clear and concise.
Improving patient experience at LetsGetChecked
At LetsGetChecked, our patient-centric approach means that we are constantly striving to improve the user experience for our patients and clients. Our comprehensive at-home diagnostics, virtual consultation, and pharmacy services aim to make care simple - just how it should be.
To ensure that we always meet our customers and clients where they are, and provide quality service, our in-house research team work to constantly assess where we can improve and how we can continue to provide reliable, accessible, and trusted healthcare solutions for all.
Result narratives
LetsGetChecked recognizes the importance of concise test results for our patients. This is why after extensive user research through monthly surveys and interviews, we were able to identify gaps in our results explanations and improve the way in which we explain and communicate results to our patients.
The aim of improving our results narratives was to ensure the way in which our results are communicated is meeting patients' needs and providing quality insights so each individual fully understands the meaning and the best next steps for them.
With feedback and insight into customers' expectations, we were able to enhance our results narratives and provide a reliable and accessible healthcare solution to patients.
-
Explanation of results in the app was improved based on customer feedback and experiences of our nursing team delivering results by phone.
-
Design updates are underway so that patients are clearly shown how to download a lab report and how to find out more information about each biomarker.
-
In-app messaging with our clinical team was launched to complement our existing phone call service and to reach more customers with free post-result support. Clear links to book virtual consultations with our medical providers on result screens were also added to enable treatment options where appropriate.
The at-home healthcare industry is constantly evolving. To remain a leader in this industry, we must always evolve at the same rate as our patients evolve and understand and empathize with their needs every step of the way.
