OK2Take:
Prohibited Medication Search for LQTS Patient
Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a dangerous heart rhythm disorder that can cause chaotic and sometimes fatal heartbeats, is instructed to avoid certain medications as the first line of defense against fainting, seizures, and, in extreme cases, sudden death. The list of prohibited medications is close to 300 items, which makes it impossible for anyone person to know without assistance what drugs are safe to take. LQTS may be expected to occur in 1 in 2,000 individuals.
Problems
Unsearchable medication list
Until recently, individuals had only a PDF from Credible Meds, arranged in alphabetical order by generic drug name, from which to determine whether or not a drug was dangerous for people with LQTS. This list was not searchable and resulted in a system that posed significant risks to the patients.
The only system
Only one system in the market now (CredibleMeds) is a mobile app for medication search. It only allows users to search for the exact medication name. It lacks efficiency or a clear definition of the risks imposed.
How might we...
...assist LQTS patients to efficiently find the medication they are safe to take?
Design Goals
Ok2Take was born out of the desire to help individuals with Long QT Syndrome safely buy and take over-the-counter medications.
1. Create several ways to look up medications
2. Present the complex information in a clean way for different types of users
3. Allows users to personalize for a tailored experience
4. Provide clear instructions to users regarding medication without confusion.
Design Phases
This project started as a school project with a team of 4 (phase 1) and finished with an MVP. Due to the project's time limitation, we didn't have time to conduct a usability test and iterate the design.
However, consider the feedback received that it would greatly contribute to the LQTS community, I've decided to continue working on this as a side project on my own (phase 2). The redesign was shared with CrdiebleMeds.
Phase 1
Role
Research, Interface Design
Duration
3 months
Process
Survey, secondary research, competitive analysis, system analysis, user journey, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing
Teammates
Anna Simonson (Project Manager) Dan Wu (Operations)
Olivia Fountaine (Tech lead)
Discovery
Talking to users
We conducted surveys and interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data from our stakeholders, including LQTS patients, pharmacists, and physicians, to understand their needs and goals during the medication search and their unspoken underlying needs. Furthermore, we asked users to accomplish tasks on the current system to identify what the current system lacks and how we can create a product that delivers the most intuitive experience and best assists the users.
Research Takeaways
1. Stakeholders value ease of search the most.
2. Users found it difficult to correctly type out the medication names.
3. The current system's excessive information leads to confusion and overload.
4. Patients' health is the highest priority.
5. People would mistakingly take Apps as medical advice. Hence, it is vital to crafting an airtight legal disclaimer.
Design Process
The ideation phase is based on translating key observations and opportunities into actionable solutions. I led our team with several brainstorming sessions and created wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes to pitch the project sponsor.
Ideation of features was based on the needs and goals summarized in each phase of the user journey. After receiving approvals from stakeholders to move forward with low-fidelity prototypes, we moved on to work on high-fidelity prototypes. I created the user flow of the app to showcase to the stakeholder as part of the presentation.
Making Tasks Manageable
Customize for
Efficiency
Problem
The user who likes to note down everything needs the ability to save his medications because it would not be efficient to search for the medication every time.
Design Decisions
#1
While it's essential to avoid certain medications, one of the more difficult things for people with LQTS is determining what medications they can take. People are unique. Their LQTS conditions are also based on individuals. The feature allows users to add their own "OK2Take List" to help them quickly find the medications they can take.
#2
Make the product personalized so users can create their own lists with different medications for different conditions by saving the med records.
Visual Confirmations
Design Decisions
#1
A function that highlights any changes to the medication list is the first thing the users see when they open the app. This would help them avoid overlooking something due to regular use.
#2
Adding colors for users to differentiate if the medication is safe to take or not.
Problem
The user is a 50-year-old LQTS patient with the highest degree from high school who needs to quickly identify if she can take the medication or not because taking the wrong medication could risk her life.
Design Decisions
#1
Barcode scanning allows users to scan the barcode in pharmacies quickly. The function would significantly benefit users by saving time, ensuring accuracy, and decreasing the mis-spelling risk that patients might buy or take something dangerous.
#2
Sorted the medications into common categories, e.g., flu, stomach, etc., that users who are not medical professionals can easily comprehend. Users can use the app to search for the over-the-counter medications they must avoid beforehand when they have the symptoms.
#3
Only providing the information that is the most essential to the users. Multiple pieces of information regarding the medication are crucial for medical professionals. However, they are less important for users. To avoid cognitive overload, we adopted a collapse and expanded a pattern to hide the information that cannot be omitted.
The MVP
Validation
After showing the MVP to 2 LQTS patients and 1 pharmacist, the OK2Take app received comments as follow,
"I need this, when is this going to the market?"
“Please continue to work on this which will be a great contribution to the LQTS community.”
Next Step
Due to the project's time limitation, we didn't have time to conduct a usability test and iterate the design. However, considering the feedback received that it would greatly contribute to the LQTS community, I've decided to continue working on this as my side project in 2021.
Takeaways of phase 1
Consider legal liability in product design
Our team considered HIPAA compliance but didn’t consider putting the legal liability disclaimer until our sponsor reminded us. This is especially crucial in medically related services as it could put users' lives at risk.
Phase 2
Role
UX Design
Duration
3 months
Process
Usability testing, iterative design process
Metrics
• Task success rate
• Time on task
• Use of navigation in the app
• User error rates
• User satisfaction rate
• System Usability Scale
Usability Studies
I conducted unmoderated usability testing with 6 participants, including 4 LQTS patients and 2 pharmacists. The participants are equal numbers of people of different genders between 20 and 70 years old.
Research Goal
1. Determine if the app is intuitive for users and fulfills their needs in the medication searching process.
2. Discover new underlying needs or area of opportunity of the users.
3. Evaluate if the app can replace the existing system in terms of having all the features and capabilities.
Takeaways
1. The design is not straightforward or intuitive enough
The lesson learned from the user flow pointed out the current design is not straightforward enough and does not match their intuitions.
2. Ease of search is the key
Users also value the ability to customize based on individual and time (as fast as possible).
3. New opportunity: adding various levels of risks of TDP identified by CredibleMeds.
Iteration
From Confusion to Clarification
Problem - Users didn't know where to go
Users tend to click on each icon in the navbar to see what’s there, but it is clear that users are not familiar with the icons. The heatmaps and clicks of the usability test also indicated there were gaps between users' thinking processes and our MVP design.
Design Decisions
#1
To create a more intuitive design, I added an onboarding tutorial for users to learn the key features of the apps and how to use these features.
#2
Adding text descriptions makes the menu more straightforward and avoids confusion on icon unfamiliarity.
#3
Adding multi-access points of important information on different touchpoints concluded from the interactions in the usability study.
1. Saved meds and the medication update time can be accessed from both the home page and profile page.
📍 Option 1
✅ Option 2 was chosen because of Gestalt principles where grouping items based on similarity and proximity.
2. Medication personalization can be easily accessed on Saved Meds page.
📍 Original access point
✅ Option 1 was chosen because the icon is more minimalist. The feature is also introduced in the onboarding.
📍 Option 2
Accommodating more users
Problem - How much do users actually want to know?
The previous research indicated patients preferred fewer details but a straightforward indication of whether the medication was safe. However, the usability study shows that more than simply indicating medication is safe or drugs to avoid might be needed for users. Users want to know more details about side effects.
"why avoid? what are the side effects” – a patient-user
”I would avoid giving patients any medication that would prolong QT.” – a resident interviewee
Design Decisions
To accommodate a wider range of users, I added different levels of risks. However, the presentation of information has to be done right, otherwise would overwhelm users with too many details.
📍 Option 1: indicating risk level with "Drugs to Avoid"
📍 Option 2: The risk level is shown in the information table and is clickable. It takes the user to a page explaining different risk levels once click on it. It can also be accessed on the Profile page
✅ Option 3 was chosen because the presentation is the most obvious and clean. Users can easily access the explanation by clicking the text.