Design strategy and execution in a 46B industry to improve pricing transparency from provider to patient

The Challenge
Handl Health is a startup founded in 2019, tackling one of America’s greatest endemic problems — its own healthcare system. With new legislation mandating healthcare providers give cost estimates to patients, we saw an opportunity to integrate estimates into providers’ workflows and establish Handl Health as their go-to solution for future price transparency needs.

We began with the hypothesis that small private practices need a way to create Good Faith Estimates so they can abide by federal legislation and help patients plan for the cost of care.

How might we make creating a cost estimate a seamless part providers’ responsibilities?

Role
Design strategist and lead designer

Responsibilities
I conducted market research, ideated and refined the MVP features, and delivered a high-fidelity prototype

Timeline
2 sprints (4 weeks), part-time

Tools
Figma, Miro

A process for quick speed-to-market, minimizing risk, and envisioning the future

This was an experiment for a new offering in a new market, so we allocated 2 sprints to move from concept to delivery of a high-fidelity prototype. We didn’t have time or resources for discovery research or proper usability testing. As such, I worked off market research, competitive analyses, and hypotheses. At the end of the 2nd sprint, I was able to test with a single private practice provider.

Validating market size, amassing requirements, and imagining solutions

I first validated the size of the private practice mental health market. Through this market research, I came across other digital health startups that could be potential resources, partners, or competitors to explore in the future.

Then I reviewed analyses of the legislation which outlined the new mandate for good faith estimates (GFEs), which allowed me to generate minimum technical requirements, new questions, and potential features.

From research to ideating the solution: I created a sitemap to align with the CEO and surface more questions

I synthesized my ideas into a rough sitemap to discuss with the CEO so we could align on the MVP features and review outstanding questions. We agreed to eliminate GFE templates and any integration with other software for the MVP. From here, I scheduled a working session with the COO to understand fee schedules, before drafting user flows for each part of the product and sketching.

Refining the architecture through sketches and user flows, plus another wave of questions

I used the new user flows and sketches as a starting point for the CEO and I to align on design direction, address new questions, and kickstart the design phase of this product.

Designing through ambiguity to achieve clarity

My initial focus was exploring the architecture of each page and new, repeatable components where necessary. A cart builder style UI would provide the user with persistent feedback on the selections from each step. And as I iterated, I honed a repeatable architecture for each page and a consistent navigation that supported the unique needs of each step in the estimate creation flow.

In my final 2 iterations, I focused on refining the UI elements and interactions. This included designing a new search bar component inspired by Google, creating a fullscreen takeover experience, and enabling incremental data upload during the estimate creation flow.

Testing validates design’s consistency with healthcare standards and uncovers opportunities for more user education

Final designs, UI components, and prototype

View Prototype

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