The problem we seek to address is the lack of compliance of patients, especially the elderly, with their prescribed drug regimens. Missing doses or taking medication incorrectly can lead to serious medical complications, hospital stays and high healthcare costs.
UI/UX designer designing “MedMinder” app and website from conception to delivery for my Google UI/UX training project.
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs, determining information architecture, and responsive design.
My goal is to provide a convenient and easy-to-use solution to help patients stay compliant with their medication regimen, especially the elderly. I want to help patients take the right medications, in the right doses, at the right times, so they can maintain their health and avoid costly medical complications.
2 weeks
I conducted a user research study to understand the needs and behaviors of patients, particularly the elderly, in relation to medication reminders and adherence. The study revealed that patients need a simple, customizable, and user-friendly reminder system to help them adhere to their medication regimen. Doctors and pharmacists emphasized the importance of medication adherence and stressed the need for a reliable reminder system. These results emphasize the importance of designing an effective medication reminder system that addresses the needs and preferences of patients and healthcare professionals. After that, I also wanted to create a solution to help doctors: so that they can manage patients and their medication quickly.
Managing a medication regimen can be challenging for many patients, particularly the elderly. They may need to take multiple medications at different times of the day, in varying doses and with specific instructions. As a result, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all the information, leading to missed doses or incorrect medication administration.
Patients, including the elderly, often struggle with forgetfulness when taking their medications. They may forget to take their medication at the prescribed time, forget whether they've already taken it, or neglect to refill their prescriptions when running out. This can result in non-adherence and serious health consequences.
Doctors often find managing patients and their medication to be time-consuming, taking away from other essential duties. A streamlined medication management solution that simplifies the process for doctors can be very helpful, allowing them to focus on primary responsibilities and provide better care to their patients.
Donna, a friendly and full-of-life elderly person, struggles with forgetfulness, which makes it difficult for her to remember to take her medication, causing her anxiety.
Dr. Robert, a passionate and dedicated general practitioner, faces challenges managing his medical practice due to the overwhelming workload and lack of time to provide individualized care to each patient. As a result, he is searching to enhance the quality of care he provides to his patients.
Based on Donna's and Dr. Robert's user journey, I discovered that having a dedicated medication management app for each of them would be very helpful. The main solution for this project is to send notifications to remind patients to take their medication on time. Additionally, I wanted to offer doctors a solution to help them manage their patients' medications more efficiently.
I created initial designs for a medication reminder app and website after ideating and sketching paper wireframes. The designs aim to deliver personalized guidance to users for managing their medication regimen, with a focus on creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface. The app provides tailored reminders and notifications to help patients stay on track with their medication, while also providing doctors with a fluid way to manage their patients and medication.
I developed a low-fidelity prototype for usability testing. The prototype was designed to test the functionality and usability of the reminder system and the navigation. The goal was to ensure that the interface meets users needs, especially the elderly, in managing their medication and doctors in managing their patients medications.
app
I conduct usability studies for each apps to gather detailed feedback on user needs and interactions with the prototype app. The first round gathers general impressions and identifies major issues or roadblocks. The second round gathers specific feedback on issues and observes how users interact with new or updated features. This process helps me identify and improve areas of each apps causing confusion or frustration for users.
- Users need a completion status of what they marked
- Users need another way to see which day it was for a specific date
- Users need more informations about their doctor
- Users need a way to find more information about each medication from any tab
users found that buttons were too close to titles
- Users needed to see the "personal code" of each patient, as well as their gender, in order to easily identify and locate the appropriate patient information.
- Users also expressed a need to edit patient information as needed
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes like providing a clear section from the home screen to browse see all medication status. Additional design changes included adding an “more infos” icon for each medication, and providing a clearer indication of the day for specific date and much more.
Based on user insights, it was determined that a navigation bar is necessary to help users identify their current location and easily navigate between pages. In addition, some buttons were not optimally placed in the design, so I made improvements by relocating them to make them more accessible. Furthermore, I incorporated additional patient information into the design, as it was identified as a requirement by the users.
Mobile app digital wireframes vs mockups
Website digital wireframes vs mockups.
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.
High-fidelity prototype of the mobile app for patients.
High-fidelity prototype of the website app for doctors
In order to ensure that the app is easy to navigate, I focus on the design of the headings, labels, and buttons, making sure they are clear and consistent throughout the app. This involves selecting appropriate font styles and sizes, using clear and descriptive text, and ensuring that all buttons and other interactive elements are properly labeled and placed in logical locations. Additionally, I will include clear and recognizable icons that can guide the user experience.
To make the app more accessible for users with visual impairments, I made sure to use high-contrast colors and larger text sizes throughout the interface. Using high-contrast colors, such as black text on a white background, makes it easier for users with visual impairments to distinguish between different elements on the screen. Larger text sizes also make it easier for users with visual impairments to read the text on the screen.
To ensure that the app is fully accessible for users who rely on screen readers, I made sure to use descriptive alt-text for all images used throughout the interface. Alt-text, short for alternative text, is a brief description of an image that can be read by screen readers to provide users with a better understanding of the content of the image. It also ensures that the images will be properly described.
The medication reminder app and website have the potential to significantly improve patient and doctors outcomes by providing personalized guidance and reminders for medication management. The app and website address gaps in existing solutions and offer a unique approach, ultimately promoting health and wellness. Additionally, the platform enable doctors to provide better care to their patients too.
This project taught me to diligently follow a user-centered approach to solve complex problems practically and effectively. Aligning the design with user needs, especially the elderly, reinforced the importance of continuous feedback and improvement. The process highlighted the value of persistence and patience, as each step played a crucial role in delivering a functional and user-friendly solution.
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed and also Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.
Create detailed design specifications to describe every aspect of the design, including layout, typography, and interactions.
Review and finalize the design with the development team and stay involved in the development process to ensure that the final product adheres to the original design vision.
