The existing referral process was a roadblock for external providers and care coordinators. There were too many steps and cognitive overload made scheduling into AbleTo a frustrating experience.
Through user research and problem identification, I uncovered key pain points - long flows, unnecessary fields, and confusing navigation. It was time for a redesign.
Key solutions to improve the overall referral experience:
👉 Streamlined the Referrer Scheduling Tool (RST) with a simplified workflow
👉 Reduced input fields to only essential information
👉 Improved navigation with clear step indicators
👉 Minimalist design to reduce cognitive load
The result? A referral experience that's intuitive, fast, and opens doors for patients to access mental health services.This was the first step to improving the ecosystem. The ecosystem requires a portal for referrers to manage their patients and cases referred to AbleTo as well.
The existing Care Coordination Platform (CCP) had a major limitation - a one-size-fits-all role made it impossible for supervisors to manage their teams effectively.
Through stakeholder interviews and research, we uncovered the critical needs of supervisors and managers - oversight of team performance, visibility into individual caseloads, and tracking referral metrics.
The solution? An intuitive admin portal within CCP, designed with these key features:
👉 Team performance dashboard for overall progress tracking
👉 Drill-down capability to review individual team member caseloads
👉 Referral metrics and quota management tools
👉 Ability to fill in for absent team members when needed
With the admin portal, care coordination became a seamless experience for referrer supervisors, empowering them to lead their teams effectively and provide better care.
The redesigned RST and the new admin care coordination portal were game-changers - but true impact came from integrating them into a cohesive ecosystem. By connecting streamlined referrals with efficient team coordination, I created a synergy that improved care handoff between referring providers and AbleTo providers. External providers could not only schedule patients quickly, they could now share patient information with AbleTo providers and check in on their patient’s progress.
The result? A comprehensive referral ecosystem that opens doors for patients to access mental health services with ease.
But this integration wasn't without challenges. Aligning multiple stakeholders and prioritizing updates across teams required strategic communication and a big-picture mindset.
Through collaborative efforts and a user-centered approach, I navigated these hurdles, ensuring a cohesive and impactful experience for all.
Designing is one thing, but what about the impact? I took a data-driven approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned referral ecosystem.
Key metrics tracked:
👉 Referral volume
👉 Time to schedule
👉 Care coordinator productivity
👉 Patient satisfaction
The results spoke for themselves - a significant increase in referrals, faster scheduling times, and higher care team efficiency. In addition, we attracted new customers and onboarded more existing customers to the CCP platform.
This wasn't a one-and-done project, though. Through continuous user feedback and usage data analysis, I identified areas for further optimization, ensuring the referral ecosystem remained intuitive and impactful.
This redesign was just the beginning. With a solid foundation in place, the referral ecosystem is primed for scalability and future expansion.
Opportunities on the horizon:
👉 Improving the scheduling feature to include filtering
👉 Enhancing the CCP admin portal with advanced analytics and reporting
👉 Exploring exchanging information dynamics between AbleTo and referring providers
But beyond just product enhancements, this project taught me invaluable lessons in crafting intuitive user experiences for provider-facing and care coordination in healthcare technology:
✨ Prioritize simplicity and minimize cognitive load
✨ Align stakeholders through strategic communication
✨ Embrace a data-driven, continuous improvement mindset
As AbleTo continues to grow, these best practices will guide us in opening more doors, providing better access to mental health support for all.
Want to see more studies?
Check out the consumer-facing projects and Coaching+ in Designing for impact: Enhancing the AbleTo Coaching Platform.