MyChart | Joanne Tang's Portfolio

Health and Wellness & UX Design

MyChart by Epic

Redesigning patient portals for enhanced accessibility and user experience, improving satisfaction and engagement through data-driven UI/UX solutions.

Project Type

Passion project

Project Duration

6 weeks

Software Stack

Figma, Balsamiq, Miro, Qualtrics & Adobe Photoshop

My Roles

UX Researcher & Designer, UI Designer, and Branding Manager

Deliverables

✅ A comprehensive analysis of global usage habits and user needs to identify key insights and opportunities for enhancing patient portal experiences.

✅ Redesigned user interfaces of the MyChart patient portal for both desktop and mobile platforms

Design Impacts

🔹Conducted in-depth analysis of global usage habits and user needs to uncover critical insights, informing the redesign of MyChart.

🔹Evaluated MyChart's current UI/UX, pinpointing pain points and improvement opportunities, leading to a redesigned interface that enhances patient satisfaction and accessibility across various digital platforms.

01 Background

As a patient using MyChart, a healthcare portal by Epic, I experienced firsthand the convenience of accessing health information and communicating directly with my care team. However, I also noticed several user experience issues that hindered its full potential. With over 305 million patient charts in Epic, spanning all 50 states and more than a dozen countries, the platform serves a vast and diverse audience, making these issues even more significant.

Driven by my personal experience and curiosity, I set out to verify my observations and explore the broader challenges faced by users globally. Through a comprehensive investigation, I analyzed global user needs and redesigned the UI/UX to address key pain points, aiming to create a more intuitive and accessible experience for patients on both desktop and mobile platforms. This project was an opportunity to reimagine how patients engage with their healthcare, enhancing usability and satisfaction across digital devices.

Reference: About MyChart. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.mychart.org/About

02 Research & Findings

02.1 Research Methods

1 - Survey

A Qualtrics survey comprising 14 questions was distributed through Survey Swap. Participants were asked to evaluate images of the current MyChart UI focusing on its navigation system.

The survey also included questions about user habits and prioritizations to gain deeper insights into user preferences and needs. Additionally, demographic information was collected to ensure a diverse and representative sample.

2 - Interviews

Conducted two 45-minute individual interviews with UX designers and researchers working in the healthcare industry to gain valuable insights. The discussions focused on the differences between patient and doctor user interfaces, aiming to understand the unique requirements and challenges faced by each user group.

3 - Card Sorting

Three card sorting activities were conducted in Miro with participants aged 24 to 44 who use patient portals. Participants were given current features from MyChart's patient portal and asked to categorize them based on their functions and similarities without any prior knowledge of the original UI. Follow-up questions were posed to understand their opinions and to identify potential new features that are not currently available.

These activities were guided by instructions and were semi-structured.

02.2 Research Findings

(N = 12)

🔹The most significant finding is that frequent users of patient portals predominantly use smartphones (60%), while those accessing the portals daily rely exclusively on multiple devices.

🔹The most critical features for users in patient portals are Medical Records, Communication/Messages, and Billing, with Medical Records consistently ranked as the top priority. Users prioritize immediate access to personal health information and direct communication with healthcare providers, while features like Finding Health Providers and Resources are considered less essential.

🔹When asked about the information structure of MyChart's navigation UI, 67% of users felt that the number of items under each function was slightly too many. However, most users held neutral to positive opinions regarding its visual design.

02.2 Research Findings (cont.)

Participants consistently ranked "Visits," "Health Summary," and "Test Results" as top priorities, indicating that immediate access to appointment details and health data is crucial for users.

Features related to "Messages" and "Billing Summary" were categorized as important, but not at the highest priority level. This highlights the need for efficient communication tools and clear billing information, though they may not require the same level of prominence as health data and appointments.

All participants expressed confusion about certain functions and noted overlapping features, which led to uncertainty about their use. Additionally, the categories created by participants differed from the current structure, indicating a need for a more intuitive and user-friendly organization of features.

03 Pain Points

Complex Navigation Structure

Users found the number of items under each function in MyChart's navigation UI to be overwhelming, with 67% expressing that there were too many options.

Feature Overlap and Confusion

Participants experienced confusion regarding the functions of certain features and noted that some features appeared to overlap in their purposes. This lack of clarity can lead to frustration and inefficiency, as users are unsure which feature to use for specific tasks.

Misalignment with User Prioritie

The current structure of MyChart's UI does not align well with user priorities. Critical features like "Visits," "Health Summary," and "Test Results" were consistently ranked as top priorities by users during the card sorting activities, yet the existing organization may not reflect this prioritization. This misalignment makes it harder for users to access the most important information quickly and easily.