service design: 

service design: 

  visiting dentistry

visiting dentistry


Image of a dental tooth mold

Virtudent brings dental hygienists (and their equipment to conduct routine dental cleanings) to office spaces. 

They initially approached our UX design team to redesign their
online patient booking process. 

GAINING TRACTION

Virtudent told our UX design team about two main issues:
1. By the time patients are seen at their offices by hygienists, many have not completed the pre-requisite paperwork. This disrupts the schedule of cleanings. 
2. Many patients are not actually completing the booking of an appointment using the online system. This leads to missed appointments, lost revenue, and patient attrition.

Virtudent told our UX design team about two main issues:

1. By the time patients are seen at their offices by hygienists, many have not completed the pre-requisite paperwork. This disrupts the schedule of cleanings. 

2. Many patients are not actually completing the booking of an appointment using the online system. This leads to missed appointments, lost revenue, and patient attrition.

Getting to know the company. 
• Meetings with 5 senior stakeholders to learn about their goals and needs. 
• Sat with 4 current patients and 4 prospective patients to hear their journeys with the patient intake system.
• Learned about business initiatives that were not apparent from the website.

Getting to know the company: 
• Meetings with 5 senior stakeholders to learn about their goals and needs. 
• Interviews with 4 current patients and 4 prospective patients to hear their journeys with the patient intake system.
• Learned about business initiatives that were not apparent from the website.

This image lists that we met with senior stakeholders including the VP of Product, the Senior Director of Marketing, The VP of Customer Success, the Patient Success Manager, and a Registered Dental Hygienist. We asked them questions including: What makes Virtudent unique in your opinion? What do you want the patient experience to be? How is your role impacted by the patient appointment booking process? How is the company affected by the existing patient booking process?
existing patients
When we met with prospective patients, we asked them to: show us what you’d do to book an appointment. As you go, talk aloud about what you see, and how you’re making choices to proceed. Tell us about what you liked in this process. Tell us about what was confusing in this process. What does this process tell you about the company? What are your expectations moving forward?
At one of our meetings, we were asked, “If they’re coming to my conference room to clean my teeth, where do I spit?” We realized the user experience of Viirtudent begins with people understanding how their services work, not just what they do, and why it promotes overall health.
missed
overview
A screenshot of the first page a patient encounters in the online appointment-booking process, which requests name, date and time of appointment, the type of visit (although
A screenshot of the first form a patient must complete: the patient registation, asking for name, address, contact information, and birthdate.
A screenshot of the second form a patient must complete, which is billing information
A screenshot of the third form a patient must complete, which is insurance information.
A screenshot of the fourth page of medical forms a patient must complete, which is a checkbox list of conditions that may apply to the patient's medical history.
A screenshot of the fifth form a patient must complete which requests information about dental history, and past DMDs a patient has seen.
A screenshot of the review page a patient must complete, which requires reviewing all of the information previously input, and a signature at the bottom.
feedback loops

Study the current system.
The existing online appointment booking system begins with a link patients receive from their employers which takes them to a specific URL, then leads them into a HIPAA-compliant iFrame for 6 forms of health information, and back to the Virtudent website requesting payment in a pop-up window. 

Study the current system.
The existing online appointment booking system begins with a link patients receive from their employers which takes them to a specific URL, then leads them into a HIPAA-compliant iFrame for 6 forms of health information, and back to the Virtudent website requesting payment in a pop-up window. 

UNDERSTANDING THE
CURRENT PATIENT EXPERIENCE

Working with the feedback.
Feedback highlighted that 4 main categories of the booking process led to customers having an untrustworthy and cumbersome experience:
• Unclear messaging and CTAs
• Repetitive requests for information
• Ability to save and return 
• Payment method and payment security

Working with the feedback.
Feedback highlighted that 4 main categories of the booking process led to customers having an untrustworthy and cumbersome experience:
• Unclear messaging and CTAs
• Repetitive requests for information
• Ability to save and return 
• Payment method and payment security

A photograph of some of the user experience design team performing an affinity diagramming exercise to sort consumer feedback into categories of comments.
sample quote from feedback group about unclear messaging: It’s asking me to pick a day Monday through Sunday, but I thought they were only in my office Tuesday and Wednesday. Why are these options here? Did I make a mistake?
sample quote from feedback group about repetitive request for information: Why do I have to enter my name and insurance information again? I just did that on the first page.
sample quote from feedback group about confusion with saving input information and returning to complete it later. This is 6 pretty long forms but I need to get back to work. I have to finish this now?
sample quote from feedback group about insecurity of payment methods: I can pay by Venmo? That’s what I use with my friends. It doesn’t seem legit.

SCOPE, HIPAA, &
DESIGNING FOR HEALTHCARE

After presenting a report of patient insights to Virtudent stakeholders, we learned from them that the area we identified that would have the greatest impact of improving the customer experience (the iFrame) was outside the scope of Virtudent's directives.

We revisited the previous scope discussion about perceived inflexibility within the iFrame. We had discovered changes are possible, as a result of comparative analysis with another dental company using the same iFrame.

Virtudent said that they would consider changes to the iFrame at a later phase.  

After presenting a report of patient insights to Virtudent stakeholders, we learned from them that the area we identified that would have the greatest impact of improving the customer experience (the iFrame) was outside the scope of Virtudent's directives.

We revisited the previous scope discussion about perceived inflexibility within the iFrame. We had discovered changes are possible, as a result of comparative analysis with another dental company using the same iFrame.

Virtudent said that they would consider changes to the iFrame at a later phase.  

In Scope.
• Language in feedback loops
• Potential new email clients
• Advisement on payment methods

In Scope.
• Language in feedback loops
• Potential new email clients
• Advisement on payment methods

Out of Scope.
• HIPAA iFrame messaging
• new potential HIPAA iFrames
• Virtudent website & messaging

Out of Scope.
• HIPAA iFrame messaging
• new potential HIPAA iFrames
• Virtudent website & messaging

REVISITING THE SYSTEM

We revisited the online booking process pursuing opportunities to improve the customer experience using only the feedback loops. 

We proposed language changes to the existing email templates.


We revisited the online booking process pursuing opportunities to improve the customer experience using only the feedback loops. 

We proposed language changes to the existing email templates.

language changes

We discussed breaking the lengthy appointment booking process into 3 smaller processes that could be completed individually.

We discussed breaking the lengthy appointment booking process into 3 smaller processes that could be completed individually.

Image highlighting that we proposed breaking the current long process into 3 smaller ones: selecting appointment date and time, completing medical forms, and submitting payment. We believed that shorter bursts of the booking process could be an interim solution to one of the main categories of patient feedback: that the process is long and cumbersome.

Preparing a customer journey map for Virtudent stakeholders
helped us demonstrate the existing user experience visually:

Preparing a customer journey map for Virtudent stakeholders helped us demonstrate the existing user experience visually:

originalsize

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Based on our qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, and the discovery of the iFrame flexibility:
We encouraged Virtudent stakeholders to pivot their focus to learning more about the capabilities of their iFrame, where adjustments could make the greatest impact on improving the patient experience. 

Based on our qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, and the discovery of the iFrame flexibility:
We encouraged Virtudent stakeholders to pivot their focus to learning more about the capabilities of their iFrame, where adjustments could make the greatest impact on improving the patient experience. 

Image depicting the 3 phases of the online booking process: 1) general messaging to the patient from Virtudent and the employer’s HR department, 2) the appointment scheduler and medical forms, and 3) payment. The second phase, the appointment scheduler and medical forms, is the phase of the process that received the majority of negative patient feedback.This phase of the process occurs within the Denticon iFrame.

2022. Katharine Britten Howard