Patients Acutes Technology in Healthcare (PATH)
OVERVIEW
I am delighted to announce the successful launch of PATH, a native iOS application operational in Houston, Las Vegas, Reno, and Sacramento. PATH is at the forefront of innovation, specifically designed to transform traditional paper flowsheets used in kidney care into an all-encompassing electronic data capture system featuring integrated charge capture and a clinical data repository.
The core objective of PATH is to standardize the nurse documentation process in kidney care, providing comprehensive support for every interaction with hospital dialysis patients. The app is not merely a tool for digital transformation but a catalyst for enhancing the quality of kidney care, streamlining operational processes, and refining overall patient management. By employing this digitized and systematic approach to documentation, we anticipate marked improvements in operational efficiency and the quality of care provided to patients with kidney conditions.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
At DaVita, we identified substantial issues with our acute paper flowsheets. They often needed clarification due to overlapping fields and, at times, illegible handwriting from nurses. Furthermore, the propensity for misplaced paperwork was high, as nurses often took flowsheets off-site during their off-duty hours. Most critically, the existing system offered no mechanism for capturing treatment data essential for enhancing our patients' treatments.
Recognizing these challenges, we secured high-level support and embarked on a transformative journey to revolutionize our flowsheets. We aimed to transition from paper to digital by employing a human-centered design process, culminating in a native application experience. This new approach addressed the abovementioned challenges, emphasizing clarity, accessibility, data capture capabilities, and overall user experience to ensure continual improvement in patient treatment outcomes.
“You saved me over an hour of documentation.”
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Our team is a diverse group of talented professionals, hailing from various parts of the world, each making their unique contributions to our projects. Together, we've crafted exceptional user experiences. Here are some key members who played pivotal roles:
Design Managers (Courtney Brillhart, Kevin Holland, Tory Rebhun): Our design managers excelled in navigating the complexities of stakeholder management, legal compliance, and policies and procedures, ensuring a smooth path for our projects.
Ben Snider (Senior Developer): Ben's coding expertise formed the backbone of our projects, sculpting the foundation and seamlessly implementing advanced features.
Dev Team from India: Our dedicated development team from India played a crucial role in our projects' success, bringing technical expertise and a global perspective to our work.
Kate Hanson (Senior UI Designer): Kate focused on crafting interfaces that were not only visually appealing but also intuitive and user-friendly.
David Bortnowski (Senior UX Designer): In my role, I fine-tuned the user experience, collaborating closely with business teams and stakeholders in requirements gathering, epic/story writing, prototyping, and user-testing.
Our collaborative efforts, spanning across borders, resulted in projects that not only meet but exceed user expectations. We believe in the power of teamwork, and our diverse skills converge to create exceptional digital experiences.
PROCESS
Our strategy revolved around creating a summary encapsulating crucial hemodialysis treatment aspects, underpinned by enhanced functionality and user-friendly contrast to spotlight essential elements. The endeavor was to ensure the digital flowsheet was intuitive and uncomplicated, adhering to our Treatment Experience Principles derived from a nurse’s perspective.
Treatment Experience Principles
These principles articulated the anticipated experience from a nurse’s viewpoint:
Clarity in treatment data captured.
Accessibility to dialysis education assistance.
Transparency in patients’ status.
Conciseness in data entries.
Language comprehensibility.
Readability without visual aid.
Clarity in treatment types.
Aesthetically pleasing layout inducing calmness.
Stress-free data-capturing experience.
Prototyping and Testing
Equipped with newfound insights and principles, we reconvened in our studio to fabricate initial prototypes. We instituted a two-day ‘design sprint,’ wherein we conceived, tested, and refined our prototype with real users. Our preceding research and insights heavily informed this intensive brainstorming and conceptualization period, laying a robust foundation for the subsequent phases.
User-Flows and Functional Requirements
After assimilating our preferred functions and experiences, we crafted and field-tested interactive prototypes, yielding promising initial results. Since that pivotal moment, our journey has been marked by numerous cycles of design refinement and rigorous testing. Upon the culmination of this process and subsequent endorsements from business units and stakeholders, we delved into the construction of detailed user flows.
These user flows were meticulously outlined, featuring explicit functional requirements and visual representations to depict the anticipated outcomes of interactions, such as button taps or field navigations. This thorough documentation emerged as a cornerstone, aiding the UI team in translating the final designs with precision and coherence to the development teams. This structured approach ensured seamless communication of our conceptualized visions to the development phase, mitigating discrepancies and facilitating the accurate realization of our design objectives.
OUTCOMES AND LESSONS
Today, our designs and user experiences have undergone substantial refinements driven by meticulous testing and invaluable feedback. Initially, we brainstormed several preliminary concepts as a foundation. Subsequently, through iterative developments on wireframes and prototypes, we achieved a simplified interface, thereby elevating the overall user experience by introducing pivotal changes.
Key Features of the Revamped Design:
Color-Coding for Administration Types: Incorporating distinctive colors facilitates easy identification of different administration types during a treatment.
Highlighting Invalid Inputs: Any invalid or out-of-range inputs are highlighted, ensuring immediate rectification.
Digitization of Documents: The necessity for printing has been eliminated as all treatment and billing reports are seamlessly digitalized.
In-Hospital Physician Access: Ensures quick access to a physician within the hospital for enhanced collaborative care.
HIPAA Compliant: Rigorous adherence to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards ensures data security and privacy.
ADA Accessibility: The design incorporates ADA-compliant accessibility features concerning color and type, promoting inclusivity.
Enhanced Treatment Monitoring: Monitoring treatments is more user-friendly by adopting a timeline format, facilitating quick comprehension and reference.
Reflection:
These innovations mark our commitment to simplifying user interactions, promoting accessibility, and enhancing the overall experience by aligning it closely with user needs and regulatory compliances. These enhancements will significantly contribute to more intuitive and efficient workflows.
We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback during our test phases of the new treatment flowsheet design, reflecting an 86% improved field happiness rate. Despite the commendable response, we acknowledge that there’s a substantial path ahead to refine and bolster the communications between clinics and hospitals. This application is progressing steadfastly through its development and productive stages.
Navigating the complexities of budget constraints, legal and compliance requirements, and intricate policies/procedures has been a formidable journey. Nevertheless, the pride derived from contributing to a project of such magnitude—for our dedicated nurses and, ultimately, for delivering an enriched experience to our patients—is immense.
We are optimistic about the journey ahead, committed to unveiling all the good things enfolded in our endeavors, aiming for holistic improvements and enduring positive impacts.
