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This case study prefers the grand stage of a desktop screen! It’s not fully optimized for mobile or tablet yet, so switch to desktop to catch every detail. :)
ElderEase: Healthcare Management System for your Elderly Loved Ones
ElderEase: Healthcare Management System for your Elderly Loved Ones
A HealthTech platform that allows primary caregivers to track, record and maintain the health of elderly members in their families. It combines features like ordering medication, scheduling appointments, tracking medicine dosages, health records as well as managing finances and bills.
A HealthTech platform that allows primary caregivers to track, record and maintain the health of elderly members in their families. It combines features like ordering medication, scheduling appointments, tracking medicine dosages, health records as well as managing finances and bills.
Overview
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Capstone Project as part of the Masters' Union MasterCamp in User Experience Design
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:
UX Research, Market Research, UX Design, Visual Design, Prototyping & Testing
PROJECT DURATION:
4 Months
(January - May 2023)
TEAM:
Dev Vijh (Student), Urvi Varma (Student) & Riya Nagpal (Student)
Problem Space
INTRODUCTION:
As the elderly population continues to grow, so does the urgency for efficient and comprehensive healthcare services tailored to their needs. Geriatric care encompasses not just treating age-related illnesses, but also prioritizing the overall health and well-being of seniors. In response to this pressing demand, we proudly present 'Elder Ease' – a pioneering platform meticulously crafted to empower families and caregivers in seamlessly coordinating healthcare services for their elderly loved ones.
FINDINGS FROM PRELIMINARY RESEARCH:
Lack of Structured Planning in Geriatric Healthcare
Impact of CoVID-19 on Healthcare
Digitization
Overwhelming Healthcare Plans for
Families
Lack of Medical Record Keeping/ Documentation
Based on our preliminary secondary research findings, we developed an initial HMW:
UX Research Approach
HOW WE CARRIED OUT RESEARCH AND CAME TO CONCLUSIONS
Methods Used:
User Interviews, Surveys, Empathy Mapping, Thematic Analysis, User Personas, Current Market Offerings, Competitor Analysis and Task Analysis
Goal:
To understand the needs, wants, and limitations of the users who will be interacting with our product
Before embarking on our user research involving conversations with the elderly and their family members, we had a set of assumptions about the elderly that we intended to validate. These assumptions comprised:
People of the geriatric community are completely dependent on their families/friends.
Older people are hesitant to communicate their needs and pain points.
They are unhappy living alone, especially after the pandemic.
The current system used by families to manage healthcare is haphazard and confusing.
User Interviews:
WHO DID WE TALK TO?
We carried out a total of 12 research interviews, strategically divided between interactions with elderly individuals and discussions with their family members. This approach allowed us to grasp the needs and challenges of both parties involved. Specifically, we engaged in conversations with 9 family members, encompassing children and grandchildren of the elderly, while the remaining 3 interviews were conducted with the elderlies themselves- aged 75 and above.
WHAT DID WE TALK ABOUT?
With Family Members:
(If your parents don’t live with you), how often do you visit them?
Do your elderly parents require your help with everyday activities?
Do you worry about your parent's health when you are away from them?
Do you have to remind your parents about taking their medication?
Are your parent medical records easily accessible to you?
With Elderly:
Do you have any major health related issues that require you to frequent doctor visits?
Do you take any medication daily?
How do you manage to store all your medical reports?
Do you feel comfortable using technology?
Is there any application/platform that you use or have used in the past to help you with managing your health and or daily needs?
WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?
The elderly are hesitant to communicate their needs but are happy to receive help.
Family members living away from home feel at ease when they have constant record of their parents health.
Most family members have healthcare records that are analogous and haphazard.
Family members feel helpless when their elderly parents don’t take medication, even after being reminded.
Family members feel frustrated when they have to refer to finances and expenses, but have indiscriminate records, causing delayed or doubled payments.
Family members want to be able to compare and contrast health conditions and finances across the years but are unable to do so effectively using their current analogous methods.
User Survey:
WHY?
Following our conversations with the elderly and their family members, we identified various concerns that we aimed to assess with a wider audience to determine their prevalence. Consequently, we conducted a survey post-interviews to validate our findings and gather further insights from respondents.
WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?
Elderly people generally need help with the following tasks:
-purchasing medicines
-booking appointments
-medication reminders
60% of respondents need help with the digitization and organization of medical records.
As there is a lack of digitization of medical records. There is no way to compare reports or scans, all at once.
82% of people manage finances with others. Therefore, they need a platform to manage and keep track of medical expenses.
In case of emergencies, 88% of people reach their families through phone calls. However, only 3% use panic buttons which are more efficient.
All respondents utilize multiple apps to fulfill various healthcare needs. Consequently, there isn't a single platform that consolidates all these tasks.
Key Discoveries:
WE WERE WRONG ABOUT:
Older people are unhappy living by themselves and don’t want help with their healthcare.
WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT:
Management of healthcare services and regimens is haphazard and needs streamlining.
SURPRISES:
Older people are very willing to let their kids/families help them with doctor’s appointments, medication plans etc.
HOW DID WE REACH HERE?
After gathering data through qualitative and quantitative research methods, we took several steps to analyze and empathize with the elderly and their family members. This enabled us to identify areas of opportunity for further exploration.
EMPATHY MAPS:
After gathering data through qualitative and quantitative research methods, we took several steps to analyze and empathize with the elderly and their family members. This enabled us to identify areas of opportunity for further exploration.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:
As part of our research, we aimed to learn from our audience about the current tools and applications they use to manage healthcare services for elderly family members. Therefore, we identified direct, indirect, and analogous competitors to our potential solution. We thoroughly researched and analyzed all these apps to understand their functionalities, strengths, and areas for improvement. This process was instrumental in guiding us during the ideation phase.
In the competitive world of health and productivity apps, Emoha stands out with a strong 4.4/5 rating and a user-friendly interface. Users appreciate its positive impact on the lives of elderly individuals. Yodda and EkaCare both boast a commendable 4.7/5 rating and are admired for their simplicity and language options. However, they face challenges concerning self-diagnosis accuracy and doctor response times. PharmEasy, with a 4.2 rating and broad reach, deals with concerns related to delivery and privacy. Medisafe earns praise for its flexibility and reliability, averaging a rating of 4.6. While it excels in medication tracking, users criticize its entry processes and accuracy in highlighting medication interactions. Despite Google Tasks' high rating of 4.8/5 and simplicity, it experiences issues like frequent crashes and non-functional links, highlighting the diverse strengths and challenges present among these platforms.
Opportunities:
Through our comprehensive research, employing a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, we pinpointed several gaps in the current landscape of geriatric healthcare. This process significantly informed the identification of opportunity areas for our ideation phase. These include:
A platform to consolidate medical reports and analyze the progress or deterioration of health over the years.
A system that allows families to be notified when their parents/ elders have taken or missed medication
A space to make and keep track of appointments, tests, scans etc.
An efficient framework that allows families to manage finances among themselves and create budgets.
An instant system of contact for emergencies,
Solution
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Based on the identified opportunities, we initiated the ideation process by conducting feature mapping and card sorting exercises. These activities helped categorize features into sections, which later informed the creation of ElderEase’s information architecture.
WIREFRAMES
We started with low fidelity paper prototypes for our primary flows and then through multiple iterations made our way onto high fidelity based on mentor feedback to improve the user experience of our application. Creating user stories helped us to visualize based on users mental model and put features on the screens.
Adding Reports
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add my father's recent medical report so that my sister living abroad can also be updated about it.
Adding Medication Reminders
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add the new medications that have been prescribed to my father, so that he is reminded and we can also track it.
Ordering Medicines
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to order and refill my father's medication, so that it is delivered on time and he doesn't have to miss any medication.
Adding Reports
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add my father's recent medical report so that my sister living abroad can also be updated about it.
Adding Medication Reminders
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add the new medications that have been prescribed to my father, so that he is reminded and we can also track it.
Ordering Medicines
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to order and refill my father's medication, so that it is delivered on time and he doesn't have to miss any medication.
Adding Reports
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add my father's recent medical report so that my sister living abroad can also be updated about it.
Adding Medication Reminders
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add the new medications that have been prescribed to my father, so that he is reminded and we can also track it.
Ordering Medicines
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to order and refill my father's medication, so that it is delivered on time and he doesn't have to miss any medication.
Adding Reports
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add my father's recent medical report so that my sister living abroad can also be updated about it.
Adding Medication Reminders
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to add the new medications that have been prescribed to my father, so that he is reminded and we can also track it.
Ordering Medicines
USER STORY
As a caregiver, I want to order and refill my father's medication, so that it is delivered on time and he doesn't have to miss any medication.
Introduction
OTP Verification
Sign In
Process
Set Up Elderly Profile
Onboarding
Elderly
Details
Caregiver
Details
Adding Elderly & Caregiver Profile
Enter Medication Details
Medication List
Calendar View
Adding Medication Reminder Flow
Pharmacy Homepage
Medicine
List
Product Page
Product Page
Ordering Medicines Flow
Scan
Report
Report List
Enter Report Details
Adding Report Flow
Experience the benefits of ElderEase firsthand and discover how it can assist you in providing optimal care for your elderly loved ones:
View Prototype>
User Testing
Usability testing was conducted to evaluate the user-friendliness, effectiveness, and overall user experience of ElderEase.
During usability testing, it was observed that setting up profiles for both the elderly and the caregiver during the onboarding process created a lengthy experience for users before they could reach the home screen.
Users were efficiently able to perform common tasks on the app such as scheduling appointments, managing medication, or accessing medical records.
The app effectively conveys important information, instructions, or updates, ensuring that users stay informed and can take appropriate actions.
All users were easily able to navigate through the app and find relevant features without confusion.
I'm always happy to discuss this project and my approach in more detail.
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