Insights Unlocked: Transforming Healthcare UX with Storytelling, Data, and AI

Episode Release Date: January 27, 2025

Guests: Amy Stillman (Vice President of Design at Cedar/CDER) and Logan Hartline (Senior Director at HCA Healthcare)

Introduction

In the latest episode of Insights Unlocked, hosted by Leah Hogan from UserTesting, the conversation pivots to the transformative power of innovative User Experience (UX) strategies within the healthcare sector. Recorded live at the Human Insights Summit in October, the episode delves into how storytelling, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing patient experiences and operational efficiencies in a traditionally complex and regulated industry.

Guest Introductions

Leah Hogan initiates the discussion by introducing the guests:

• Amy Stillman: Vice President of Design at Cedar (CDER), Amy oversees product design and user research with a mission to simplify healthcare finances, particularly assisting individuals in managing medical bills.

• Logan Hartline: Senior Director at HCA Healthcare, Logan leads the user experience center, focusing on digital products that cater to a diverse range of users including patients, healthcare providers, and administrative staff. His work emphasizes accessibility design and systems research.

Success Stories in Healthcare UX

Simplifying Medicaid Eligibility with User-Centric Design

Amy Stillman shares a compelling success story about Cedar's initiative to streamline Medicaid eligibility:

• Problem Identification: The Medicaid application process is notoriously cumbersome, involving multiple steps that deter eligible individuals from applying.

• User Research Insights: Through comprehensive user research, Amy and her team discovered that users often question the worthiness of the effort before even starting the application. Additionally, the emotional vulnerability associated with financial struggles makes interactions with human counselors daunting.

• Solution Implementation:

  • Developed a Medicaid eligibility tool that serves as a lightweight, user-friendly digital screener. This tool helps users determine their eligibility and available funds without the intimidating process of interacting with a human counselor.
  • Emphasized emotional comfort by creating interactions that feel less intrusive and more supportive.

• Impact: The tool successfully increased user engagement and eligibility completion rates by addressing both informational and emotional barriers.

Notable Quote:

"It's not rude from a robot. Sometimes easier than a financial aid counselor that's calling you..."
— Amy Stillman [05:30]

Enhancing Emergency Department Operations Through Observational Insights

Logan Hartline recounts an eye-opening experience within HCA Healthcare's emergency departments:

• Contextual Observations: While shadowing charge nurses, Logan noticed inconsistencies in system interfaces, particularly color-coded indicators where "green" signified different statuses across platforms.

• Key Insight: The conflicting meanings of colors like green and red across different systems led to confusion and potential delays in patient care.

• Action Taken:

  • Identified the need for unified color schemes to ensure clarity and coherence in communication within the emergency department.
  • Highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to resolve even seemingly minor issues that can have significant operational impacts.

Notable Quote:

"...seeing one of these screens is going to show green is good, the other is going to show green is bad, was like such an insight."
— Logan Hartline [09:45]

The Role of AI in Healthcare UX

Optimizing Clinical Processes with Predictive AI

Logan Hartline discusses the integration of AI within clinical settings to enhance operational efficiency without displacing human roles:

• Use Case: Labor and Delivery Predictions

  • AI models analyze clinical data to predict when a patient is approaching the delivery threshold.
  • This predictive capability allows for optimized staffing, ensuring that nurses and medical staff are available precisely when needed.

• Human-AI Collaboration: Emphasizes maintaining a human in the loop to validate AI predictions and ensure compassionate patient care.

Notable Quote:

"We never always fully take what AI says, and as gospel, there's always a human in the loop."
— Logan Hartline [12:10]

Revolutionizing Call Centers with AI-Driven Insights

Amy Stillman outlines how Cedar/CDER leverages AI to enhance call center operations:

• Current Challenges:

  • Call centers are burdened with high call volumes and emotional labor.
  • Employees are often incentivized based on the number of calls handled quickly, detracting from quality service and comprehensive issue resolution.

• AI Solutions:

  • Automated Tagging: AI listens to calls and summarizes the reasons for each call, reducing the manual burden on employees and improving data accuracy.
  • Tone Analysis: AI assesses the tone of interactions to ensure that responses are respectful, professional, and empathetic, shifting the focus from quantity to quality of service.

• Impact: These AI-driven tools not only enhance the efficiency and quality of call center interactions but also provide deeper insights into customer needs and experiences.

Notable Quotes:

"We think those are really interesting analytics to start to switch the paradigm from call centers just being about volume..."
— Amy Stillman [15:30]

"...patients like to engage if the LLM felt like it was smart and understanding them..."
— Amy Stillman [16:10]

Storytelling as a Strategy for Change Management

Utilizing Video Storytelling to Advocate for UX Improvements

Amy Stillman emphasizes the power of storytelling in driving organizational change:

• Challenge: Aligning diverse stakeholders around the necessity for UX improvements amidst conflicting priorities and resource constraints.

• Strategy:

  • Created highlight videos featuring direct patient testimonies to illustrate pain points and the human impact of UX flaws.
  • These videos serve as compelling narratives that underscore the urgency for change, bridging the gap between qualitative stories and quantitative metrics.

• Outcome: Story-driven presentations effectively garner stakeholder support and facilitate the allocation of resources towards meaningful UX enhancements.

Notable Quotes:

"Nothing better than hearing directly from the patient specifically on this problem and something that can be attached in the email."
— Amy Stillman [22:15]

Challenging Stakeholder Assumptions with User Research

Logan Hartline shares an insightful case from HCA Healthcare:

• Context: Facing discrepancies between stakeholder assumptions and actual user behaviors regarding how patients navigate to find care services online.

• Research Approach:

  • Conducted user studies to gather authentic patient feedback on their search behaviors and priorities.
  • Discovered that patients prioritize factors like specialty, insurance coverage, and location over other assumed criteria.

• Impact: Presented these findings through patient stories, allowing stakeholders to recognize and address the real needs of users rather than relying on preconceived notions.

Notable Quote:

"Allow the customer, the person to speak for you, and you're there as kind of playing copilot."
— Logan Hartline [20:10]

Advice for UX Practitioners in Healthcare

Cultivating a Continuous Learning Mindset

Logan Hartline offers valuable advice inspired by the wisdom of Michelangelo:

• Philosophy: Embrace a mindset of perpetual learning and curiosity.

• Practical Steps:

  • Start Small: Initiate small-scale research projects to explore specific questions without the need for extensive resources.
  • Democratize Research: Empower UX designers to engage in research activities, ensuring that insights are integrated across all levels of the design process.
  • Continuous Education: Invest in training and educational opportunities, such as workshops with the Nielsen Norman Group, to enhance research methodologies and application.

Notable Quotes:

"Learn in your spare time and in your free time, but I would just say start, like, just start learning how to figure out the right way to ask good questions to be able to get some of those insights."
— Logan Hartline [24:25]

Aligning Stories with Healthcare Metrics

Amy Stillman underscores the importance of bridging qualitative storytelling with quantitative metrics:

• Challenge: Healthcare stakeholders often prioritize numerical data over qualitative insights, making it essential to translate stories into measurable outcomes.

• Solution:

  • Identify relevant metrics that resonate with stakeholder priorities, such as cost savings or user acquisition rates.
  • Integrate compelling patient stories with corresponding data points to demonstrate the tangible value of UX initiatives.

• Outcome: This dual approach ensures that narratives are not only emotionally resonant but also substantively aligned with organizational goals and financial imperatives.

Notable Quotes:

"You have to have the quant because health care speaks quant. Health care companies also run on really, really, really slim margins."
— Amy Stillman [26:35]

Conclusion

The episode of Insights Unlocked masterfully illustrates how blending storytelling, data analytics, and AI can significantly enhance UX in the healthcare industry. Amy Stillman and Logan Hartline provide insightful examples of how user-centric design and technological innovations address real-world challenges, improve patient experiences, and drive organizational efficiencies. Their combined expertise offers actionable strategies for UX practitioners aiming to make meaningful impacts in the healthcare landscape.

For more insights and to listen to the full conversation, visit usertesting.com/podcast and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform.

Listen and subscribe to Insights Unlocked wherever you get your podcasts. For show notes, curated clips, and more, visit usertesting.com/podcast.