In an era of advancing technology, the desire to fill prescriptions online is growing rapidly. However, many individuals, especially older adults who are relatively new to technology, face a steep learning curve and often avoid online solutions altogether.
Patients often resort to calling or visiting physical pharmacies, which can be highly inconvenient for full-time workers and the elderly, who can't easily access them during business hours. My challenge was to create a seamless and user-friendly solution to order medications online, so patients don't have to worry about missing their medications.
For this project, I followed the design thinking method, encompassing the five essential stages of the design process:
To truly understand our users, I conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with individuals who regularly pick up medications or manage them for family members. This allowed me to gain valuable insights into their daily lives, experiences with pharmacies, and their medication ordering processes. Understanding their pain points and expectations was crucial to guiding my design decisions.
After compiling the insights from my research, I created an empathy map and defined the problem statement. Here, I identified a persona for Edna, a full-time babysitter who needed an easy app experience for ordering medication delivery due to her limited technological proficiency.
I also mapped out the sitemap and user journey, with a particular focus on streamlining the process of placing a delivery order.
In the ideation phase, I employed the "How Might We" technique to brainstorm potential solutions. Questions such as "How might we build features that help users manage their medications effectively?" and "How might we create a user-friendly experience for prescription management?" guided my creative process. I aimed to eliminate any barriers that hindered users from ordering their medications effortlessly.
With a clear direction, I embarked on creating native app wireframes, prioritizing the ordering process. Most users had minimal issues with the registration phase, but they did face frustrations with the lack of an auto-refill feature at their respective pharmacies.
Additionally, I ensured that ordering future prescriptions would be straightforward, catering to users who might not be tech-savvy.
Usability tests were conducted to gather valuable user feedback, which helped identify pain points and areas for improvement. Four main issues were identified and addressed, resulting in a more refined and user-friendly design.
After these iterations, I progressed to developing the responsive web version.
For the visual design, I chose a calming blue color palette, which is not only associated with healthcare but also symbolizes trust and reliability.
The users' feedback on the Cure Pharmacy Delivery App and its responsive web design has been overwhelmingly positive. Users find the app extremely easy to navigate, appreciate the choice of the blue color palette for the sense of security and trust it conveys, and benefit from the option to choose their delivery date and time, aligning their medication deliveries effectively.
Check out my high-fidelity prototype below.
Taking on this project was a real challenge, but it taught me so much. The struggle of creating a design that suits everyone made me realize the importance of talking to the right people. In this case, talking to older adults gave me a whole different perception on what type of challenges they face. And I'm glad I had that feedback to fix my design.
The design process was absolutely enjoyable, from planning to seeing it all come together and getting appreciation for it. Although that was the end of my project, I know there's always room for improvement. The value this project brought to me is immense, and I'm genuinely excited about jumping into more healthcare-related projects in the future!
