OVERVIEW
Chairside Snappy is an advanced charting system operating as an electronic medical record within a DOS platform. It serves as an integral tool for Patient Care Technicians (PCTs) and Registered Nurses (RNs), enabling them to efficiently capture and monitor pertinent patient information throughout a four-hour dialysis treatment. This system streamlines the documentation process and enhances care provision, ensuring patients receive meticulous attention and support during their dialysis sessions.
THE TEAM
Our team had specialists like Lisa Horwitz in UX Research and Shawn Jenkins in UI Design, and I played a role as the Senior UX Designer. Each team member was crucial, engaging in various activities such as research, interviews, and intense week-long sprints dedicated to unique features and prototyping. This inclusive and collaborative approach allowed us to bring together different perspectives and skills, fostering a well-rounded and innovative development process.
WHAT DOES THE SYSTEM LOOK LIKE TODAY?
“I like that there are labs up there, I really don’t have to know, but it is nice to be able to know what labs are current”
CHALLENGE
At DaVita, we identified that our existing platform needed to catch up in technological advancements, exhibiting significant compatibility issues with newer applications within our ecosystem. This incompatibility necessitated Patient Care Technicians (PCTs) and Registered Nurses (RNs) to perform redundant and, at times, triplicate documentation of patient treatments. Additionally, discrepancies in communication between some dialysis machines and the application could precipitate complications during treatments if not addressed promptly and effectively.
The crux of this project revolved around demonstrating the potential to modernize Chairside Snappy by redeveloping it on a native iOS platform. We aspired to streamline the documentation process, enabling nurses to record data in a singular application that seamlessly interacts with multiple systems within our network. This project involved the active participation of key stakeholders and business proprietors, offering invaluable insights and directions pertinent to the system’s overarching framework and functionality.
PROCESS
Interviews
To initiate our project, Lisa, Shawn, and I engaged with business stakeholders for a detailed walkthrough of Chairside Snappy. We further extended our understanding by visiting several local dialysis clinics and observing our teammates' real-time workflows and data capture methodologies. A prominent issue followed was nurses jotting down notes or vitals on their overcoats when system latency hindered swift data entry.
Inspiration
Our inspiration drew upon an application focused on labs and medications that had received positive feedback during its initial design phases in our clinics. We strategically embraced functionalities that had shown promising results during tests as our starting point.
Insights & Strategy
Our strategy unfolded with a card sorting exercise and a series of 'sketch by fire' sessions spanning three days, allowing us to delve into the intricate details of the information captured by nurses and its subsequent transfer to other systems. Preliminary sketches were drawn to align with stakeholders' visions, amalgamated with inspirations from labs/medications applications, paving the way for a nurse-centric application fostering efficient treatment provision.
Design Strategy
Begin with a summarization of the pivotal aspects of the Chairside Snappy application, proceeding with meticulous details.
Employ functionality and contrast to emphasize essential elements.
Ensure the application's user interface is intuitive and uncomplicated.
Prototyping and Testing
Equipped with our discerned insights and principles, we transitioned our sketches into digital formats, emphasizing critical aspects. The subsequent weeks were a confluence of brainstorming and conceptualization rooted in our prior research and insights. After refining our preferred functionalities and experiences, we segmented the application into three stages: Pre-Treatment, Treatment Monitoring, and Post-Treatment. Completing all steps led to creation of a comprehensive 187-screen prototype that underwent field testing, showcasing promising initial results.
“How much time a patient has left on treatment, that’s awesome in a place that counts it down. I’m a fan!”
“If all I have to do is click that manual vitals check button, That is great. Backflip in the program to get to where I can chart. No that is great!”
We’ve had positive feedback from those we’ve tested these designs with. Many nurses were ready for this to be live yesterday. This project proved that this product would be of great value to our nurses. Architecture, Legal, and Security were on board to get this started. However, this project moved from a native experience for our nurses to a desktop experience. Not to worry, many aspects of what we designed, researched, tested, and prototyped have moved forward in the desktop application. I’m excited to see the holistic experience once Chairside launches.