Designing a clinical research participant management system & dashboard.
Overview
A PhD fellow at the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI) is using a web application that I was involved in designing to conduct research with paediatric patients. The application allows participants to log their gastric symptoms and events over a seven-day period. Although the current beta version of the application is functional, it has limitations. For instance, the data collected is currently being updated on a spreadsheet, which makes it difficult to access and manage in a user-friendly manner. Furthermore, there is no provision for managing participants other than adding them to the study. As a result, the beta version of the application is not suitable for use by a team of clinicians to access data and manage participants.
Challenge
I have been tasked with developing a concept for a participant management system that will allow a team of clinicians to easily access participant data, visualise the data collected from the symptom tracker and manage study participants.
Role
Role: UX Designer
Timeline: 4 weeks.
Contribution
Stakeholder interview

Empathy map

User archetypes
User need statements
Information architecture

User flow mapping

Wireframes

3 Key phases of the project:
Our design process for this project involved three distinct phases
1. EMPATHISE
I started by conducting an interview to better understand the user.
During the empathise phase of your design process, I conducted an interview with the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of her pain points, needs, and wants.
This allowed me to put myself in the researcher's shoes and develop a better understanding of what she was looking for in a participant management system.
After the interview, I collated the notes into an empathy map.
This helped me visualise the researcher's experience and identify any pain points or gaps in her current workflow. This helped me develop a more nuanced understanding of the researcher's needs and identify opportunities to design a solution that would meet those needs.
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The empathy map provided insights into the researcher's thoughts, feelings, and actions. It revealed that the current patient management system's limitations frustrate the researcher, who is actively seeking a better solution that can streamline data visualisation and enable team collaboration to contribute to better patient outcomes.
This helped me visualise the researcher's experience and identify any pain points or gaps in her current workflow. This helped me develop a more nuanced understanding of the researcher's needs and identify opportunities to design a solution that would meet those needs.
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The empathy map provided insights into the researcher's thoughts, feelings, and actions. It revealed that the current patient management system's limitations frustrate the researcher, who is actively seeking a better solution that can streamline data visualisation and enable team collaboration to contribute to better patient outcomes.
Says:
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"The current system isn't set up for scale to allow for a team of researchers and assistants to use to view the data and manage participants."
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"It's fine for me to use at the moment, but we need to start thinking about what it can look like for teams of clinicians to use at a medical centre."
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"The current process is a bit clunky and not efficient."
Does:
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Manually manipulates data to create graphs.
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Maintains spreadsheets that are only accessible to her or difficult to share with others.
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Is open to the idea of a new patient management system, but wants to make sure it meets the needs of a clinical team using it.
Thinks:
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"I need to find a patient management system that can handle the needs of my team and patients."
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"I want a system that is easy to use and can quickly visualise symptom data."
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"I want to be able to share the data easily with my team, without worrying about data privacy and security."
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“I want the team to be able to leave notes on any actions taken.”
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“I want to be able to copy any notes from the app to place in my report or attach to a patient record.”
Feels
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Frustrated with the current system's limitations
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Excited about the possibility of finding a better solution
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Anxious about the time it will take to implement a new system
I created a couple of user archetypes.
They represent the different types of primary users who will be using the application. These archetypes allowed me to empathise with the users and consider their needs and wants as I designed the participant management system. By considering the needs of different user types, I was able to design a more flexible and adaptable solution that would meet the needs of a range of primary users.
Researcher (or Physisian)
Dr. Jane Smith 


Dr. Smith is a physician and researcher who specialises in gastro-intestinal conditions. She is responsible for managing patients who are participating in her research study. Dr. Smith has been using different patient management software for a few years now, but is always looking for ways to improve her workflow and communication with her research team.

Goals:
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To efficiently manage patient participation in the study.
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To easily visualise symptom data that is being tracked to aid her to make a diagnosis.
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To keep accurate notes about patient communication and progress.
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To communicate effectively with her research team.

Challenges:
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Limited time to manage patient data due to other clinical responsibilities.
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Ensuring patient privacy and security of their data.
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Keeping up with the latest research trends and incorporating them into her workflow.
Research assistant (or Nurse)
Sarah Johnson 


Sarah is a nurse who works closely with Dr. Smith. She is responsible for coordinating patient visits, monitoring patient participation, and entering notes into the patient management system. Sarah is comfortable with technology and has used a variety of software tools in the past.

Goals:
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To efficiently manage patient participation in the study.
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To keep accurate notes about patient communication and progress.
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To communicate effectively with Dr. Smith and other members of the research team.

Challenges:
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Juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities simultaneously.
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Ensuring patient privacy and security of their data.
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Keeping up with changes to the patient management software and incorporating them into her workflow
2. CONCEPTUALISE
I developed a clear strategy to guide my designing.
During the conceptualise phase of my design process, I took the insights and understanding gained from the empathise phase and used them to begin developing a clear strategy for designing the participant management system.
To start, I created user needs statements.
This helped me define the specific features and functionality that would be most important to the users. These statements allowed me to prioritise my design decisions and ensure that I was designing something that would meet the most critical needs of your users.
The participant management software should be designed with features that make it easy for them to manage patient participation, visualize symptom data, and keep accurate notes about patient communication and progress. 

The software should have a strong focus on effective collaboration, allowing users to communicate easily with each other, to enable good communication practices within the research team.
The software should also prioritise privacy and security of patient data and should be intuitive to use, even for users who are not familiar with it.
Participant management:
"As a user, I need a participant management feature that is easy to use and allows me to manage patient participation in a study effectively. I need to be able to easily track patient progress and have access to accurate data on their symptoms and treatments.
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Data Visualisation:
"As a user, I need a data visualization feature that is easy to use and helps me quickly identify trends in patient symptom data. I need to be able to easily generate graphs and charts that accurately represent patient progress over time."

Note-keeping:
"As a user, I need a note keeping feature that allows me to keep accurate notes about patient communication and progress. I need to be able to easily track changes in patient symptoms and treatments and keep track of any actions taken.
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Collaboration:
"As a user, I need a collaboration feature that makes it easy for me to communicate with other team members. I need to be able to share patient data, notes, and progress with my colleagues to ensure we are all on the same page."

Privacy and Security:
"As a user, I need a privacy and security feature that prioritizes patient data confidentiality and ensures that patient data is secure. I need to be able to confidently share patient data with my colleagues, knowing that their privacy is protected.
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Intuitive Design:
"As a user, I need an intuitive design feature that makes it easy for me to navigate the software, even if I am not familiar with it. I need to be able to quickly find the features I need to manage patient participation and monitor patient progress."
From there, I moved on to creating the information architecture
It helped me organise the information and content that would be included in the participant management system. This allowed me to begin developing a clear hierarchy of information and a logical structure for the app, which would make it easier for users to navigate and find what they need.
Below is the map of the web-app I created.
Finally, I did user flow mapping.
This allowed me to visualise how users would move through the participant management system and what the user interface might look like. This helped me refine my design decisions and ensure that the dashboard would be intuitive and easy to use for my target audience.
Below is a user flow showcasing how a user would navigate the app to view participants' progress and create a note about phoning to check in with them about their missed entry.
3. DESIGN
I used insights gained to create visual interfaces
In the design phase, I employed the insights gathered from the previous stages to create wireframes and prototypes of the participant management system to ensure that the final design solution would meet the needs of end-users.


My goal was to develop a design that was both simple and intuitive, relying on familiar SaaS design patterns.

Although I did not have the time to conduct formal usability testing, I made sure that the design solution followed best practices in user experience design.
Some highlights from my design process:
1. Home Dashboard
Key features of this design include:
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Dashboard displaying an overview of participants and their status.
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Quick filter options to sort participants based on study progress and participant status.
2. Participant Dashboard
Key features of this page include:
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Participant details page, including personal information and contact details.
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Ability to add notes and view participant communication history.
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Participant status tracking, and study progress.
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Graphs and charts displaying participant symptom data over time.
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Ability to filter and compare symptom data.
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Options to download and export symptom data for analysis.
3. Note taking feature
Key features of this page include:
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Ability to add and view notes on individual participants
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Quick copy of the note to transfer to other patient management software the medical centre uses.
OUTCOMES
Next steps...
As with any design solution, there is always room for improvement, and usability testing is an essential part of ensuring that the final product is user-friendly and meets the needs of the target audience. While I was not able to conduct usability testing during this project, I recommended that future interns complete this as part of their work.
Further research into other features such as:

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Participant management: 
Ability to send reminders and messages to participants


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Team Collaboration
: Ability to assign tasks and share responsibilities with other team members
In-app messaging and chat functionality to enable communication among team members
Option to collaborate on shared notes and documents
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Privacy and Security
: Compliance with relevant privacy regulations and guidelines
Challenges and learnings.
I was excited to take on this project as it gave me an opportunity to dive deeply into UX design best practices for creating dashboards and working on a SaaS product.
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This project also presented several challenges beyond the technical aspects of UX design. For instance, data privacy and security are critical considerations when designing a system that manages sensitive patient information.
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it also requires a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and its workflows. With my background as a pharmacist I was able to leverage some of my experience with the healthcare system. This project would still benefit greatly to consult with healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and administrative staff, to gain insights into their needs and challenges.
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Overall, creating a patient management system and dashboard design concept was an exciting and valuable learning experience.
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