Looking for a specialist doctor? What a pain…
Conceptual scheduling service for Clalit Health Services app
DOC BOOK
BACKGROUND
Clalit is Israel’s largest health service organization, with over 4.7 million customers. Clalit offers multiple services, including a wide range of digital services for its customers such as online doctor’s appointments, online pharmacy, explanations about lab test results, and more.
This project's goal is to design a service that will create a meaningful user experience and will meet the needs of Clalit and its customers.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
In the field of public health services, there are a lot of issues with the ability of clients to get appointments with desired specialist doctors for their health problems. The exhausting scheduling process, and the extended waiting time for an appointment with a specialist doctor, hinder patients’ ability to get adequate healthcare.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE
Help make people healthier faster by decreasing the time it takes clients to reach their desired doctors’ appointment
USER RESEARCH
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1
What are the criteria by which people choose which doctor to go to?
2
What are the ways in which clients schedule their appointments?
3
What are the alternatives clients have when they fail to get the appointment they want?
In order to validate the research questions and better understand the users' needs, we conducted contextual interviews with 6 Clalit's, according to the following profile:
RESEARCH FINDINGS
1
People choose a doctor by
logistics (location, transportation, minimal waiting time) and by the doctor's attributes (proficiency, gender, recommendations)
2
People schedule their doctor's appointments
via the Clalit app, website, or phone service center, or by contacting the clinic/doctor's secretary.
3
The alternative clients have when they fail to get an appointment
is to keep calling the clinic, entering a waiting list, looking for a different doctor, scheduling privately, and more.
"I would prefer to find the best specialist in the domain, even if it means driving to a different city"
"I found the doctor through the Clalit website and scheduled the appointment by phone"
"I tried to get on the waiting list but I ended up waiting. If it was more urgent I would probably pay and go privately"
MIDNSETS
The Teflon
Never had covid
See a specialist doctor once or twice a year
The Fluid
Parent of children in kindergarten
​Needs a specialist doctor a few times a year
The Chronic
Knows the receptionist by name Requires treatment on a
regular basis
EXISTING USER STORY
KEY MOMENTS
EXISTING USER STORY
Uncertainty about the process when a medical situation arises
01
02
03
Working hard to achieve the desired appointment
Not knowing if and when will I get the appointment both when already on the waiting list and not
FUTURE SERVICE VISION
Make Clalit active in escorting its members to be healthier faster,
and decrease the time it takes clients to reach specialist doctors appointment
SEVICE PRENCIPLES
01
Transparency
02
Pro activity
03
Utility
04
Efficiency
05
Reassurance
SEVICE BLUEPRINT
THE SOLUTION
User POV:
ACTIVE GUIDANCE
Sees his current position on the list, and the time other people are already waiting
In the case of not finding the desirable appointment, the user registers on a waiting list using the app
Gets the available appointments that best fit his needs
Uses the smart search based on his existing referral where he can define multiple parameters such as distance, ways of arrival, and price range
Opens the digital assistance where he gets information about the next steps, examines recommendations, and uses the smart scheduling feature
Gets a notification from Clalit's app regarding his new referral
Gets a notification when an opening becomes available and easily schedules the appointment
ADAPTIVE SCHEDULING
INTERACTIVE WAITING LIST
VALIDATION
To validate the suggested scheduling flow feasibility, we conducted A/B testing, comparing the ease of use and the satisfaction between the existing and proposed scheduling flow. Each group consisted of 5 participants between the ages of 24-61.
GROUP A
Existing flow
GROUP B
Proposed flow
FINDINGS
"I wanted to be able to sort and filter the results"
"You should rate the results based on the number of search parameters they answer"
“What about searching for a specific doctor?”
CONCLUSION AND ACTION ITEMS
Even though our design can be improved, it seems to be a better solution than the current implementation based on users’ responses.
In addition, it seems to give the users the feeling that the system is working with them, guiding them through the process and providing relevant information.
This is a key point, as it answers three of the service principle: Pro-activity, efficiency, and reassurance.
Further development of the prototype concept would help improve the service and provide better value for Clalit and its clients.
Next Steps:
Improve the design and fidelity of the prototype, specifically addressing the issues raised during the validation process.
Follow-up validation for the new prototype
validation for other value propositions based on initial prototypes (e.g. Waiting List)