Helping more Australians with a healthcare app redesign

Healthdirect partnered with us to redesign their healthcare services app. Through a human-centred design process, user testing to validate our approach, and rapid development, we created a widget that allows Australians to more easily find and access healthcare. The result was a highly intuitive and accessible product that provides valuable information and action to help people use the healthcare services they need.

‍

Healthdirect provide accessible health services to all Australians

Healthdirect are a national, government-owned, not-for-profit organisation committed to providing trusted health services to all Australians. They provide 24/7 health information, advice, and referral services to help Australians actively manage and improve their health. A large part of how they do this is by providing trusted information and virtual services, which is why they partnered with us.

‍

A confusing and outdated UI was impacting users

Unfortunately, Healthdirect’s app was receiving negative feedback. Users were finding their original app experience unintuitive and hard to use, and its usage was declining due to outdated and clunky design.

Healthdirect wanted to improve upon the user experience by creating a more intuitive and user-friendly interface. They understood that achieving this would help them provide more Australians with access to the healthcare services they needed. And so, to achieve these goals, they enlisted our help.

Realising the benefits of better

We began to help Healthdirect by conducting a collaborative analysis of the problem space to identify areas for improvement. In this step we identified existing issues such as the app taking users to a new page each time they looked at a result, breaking their cognitive context, and found that filtering information was challenging due to the overwhelming number of filterable options. 

Following our critique session we held workshops to solve existing frustrations and define an ideal future state, which then led us into collaborative design sessions to solidify these ideals onto paper. Through these workshops and design sessions, we co-designed an ideal interface to overcome the existing frustrations and highlight opportunities to improve the overall experience.

After refining the designs to a point of group consensus, we created a medium-fidelity prototype that we then tested with users both one-on-one and using public guerrilla approaches to obtain feedback. We then further revised the design based on testing insights and developed a high-fidelity prototype which we collaborated with Healthdirect to develop and implement.

Methods

• Discovery process
• Workshop facilitation
• Persona development
• Experience mapping
• User interface design prototyping
• User testing
• Front-end development

A clearer & more intuitive way to access healthcare

The result was a new and improved interface that received validated user feedback. The new widget has since been launched to the public and is helping more Australians than ever access healthcare services.

“It’s exactly what we asked for… it feels exciting, it feels like the future.”

– Chris Whitmore-Beirne, Product Manager, Healthdirect

‍

The new interface keeps the user on a single page without needing to transition elsewhere for further information. It surfaces relevant information when viewing healthcare services and filters, making it easier for users to access the advice they need. The aesthetic was kept minimal, user-friendly, and WCAG AA accessible in order to promote ease of use and access.

The new design has changed the user experience. The app is now receiving positive user feedback and is making it easier for users to access healthcare services.

In addition, Healthdirect now also has a roadmap for future improvements that were uncovered through ideation and user testing, ensuring that the service could continue to grow and improve in subsequent phases.

Outcomes

• Input, alignment, and ownership from cross-business stakeholders
• A conceptual design prototype of the reimagined National Health Services Directory
• A mix of user testing methods to provide a broad validation of the IA and UX
• An implementation roadmap detailing future features

‍

The power of co-design in application development

Our human-centred design approach has allowed Healthdirect to create a more intuitive and user-friendly interface. It continues to receive positive feedback from users and is now helping more Australians access the healthcare information and services they need with custom healthcare software.

Are you looking to design or develop an application for your business? Our team are keen to hear about your digital project. You can learn more about our healthcare software development services or get in touch via our contact form here.

The roadmap for future improvements will ensure that Healthdirect can continue to improve their service.