MentalNote
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An Electronic Health Record (EHR) system streamlining administrative and clinical care for mental health organizations.
Overview
I designed an EHR software with intuitive navigation, scheduling, telehealth, billing, note-taking templates, and assignment options. This enables users to organize their practice, communicate easily with patients, and save time.
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Problem
As clinical therapy becomes increasingly prevalent, clinicians require intuitive electronic tools for effective communication and organization.
Role
Product Designer
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Timeline
8 Weeks
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Tools
Figma, Figjam
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Skills
User Research, Wireframing, Product Design, Product Strategy
The Problem
"How can we streamline communication and organization between clients and therapists?"
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As clinical therapy becomes more widespread, clinicians need intuitive electronic tools to enhance communication and streamline organizational tasks.
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The Solution
I've created an all-in-one EHR digital solution to help therapists improve their practice and provide better care to their clients. The features are crucial for managing client interactions, scheduling, record-keeping, and ensuring efficient workflows.
Research
Competitive Analysis
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I conducted a competitor analysis of similar therapy EHR platforms, selecting TherapyNotes, TheraNest, and SimplePractice for comparison. I evaluated them based on system status visibility, recognition over recall, and user control and freedom. TherapyNotes faced challenges with template navigation due to difficulties in filtering results, while TheraNest required clients to handle most appointment coordination. SimplePractice had many features that overcrowded the platform, making recognition difficult, and interfering with the overall UX. From this analysis, I concluded that a successful user-generated EHR platform must feature clear filtering and well-organized information to ensure an intuitive user experience.
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Interview
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My objective was to identify clients and practitioners of mental therapy who could provide insights into enhancing communication between them. I aimed to better understand what people seek when organizing their practice and what aspects they find frustrating. I recruited 5 participants and asked them the following questions:
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How do you currently communicate with your client/therapist?
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of this form of communication?
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What factors could be added or improved to enhance this communication?
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Participants noted difficulties in scheduling appointments, particularly when dealing with cancellations. Additionally, they expressed frustration with other platforms, which either offered too few features, lacking in areas such as billing and assignments, or were too complicated to use. From these interviews and the competitive analysis, I gained valuable insights and created an affinity map.
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Key Insights
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Using the affinity map, I narrowed down 3 key user insights, which guided my design process.
1. Assignments tab to look back on to see progress and feedback
2. Scheduling that is simple and easy to use
3. Incorporate billing, messaging, notetaking all-in-one interface
Define
Target Users
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Since this platform is targeted at B2B sales, I developed two user personas representing business-side users.
Ideation
User Flow
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From there, I developed red routes based on the users' goals. Typically, the calendar serves as the main access point, incorporating key features such as telehealth, appointment scheduling and requests, and accessing client information.
Wireframing
Using the information from user research and flow, I created low-fidelity wireframes and iterated through user testing and design cycles to develop my final high-fidelity prototype. Below are some red routes demonstrated through wireframing.
Joining Telehealth and Assigning Work
Scheduling Appointment with a New Client
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Design System
Similar to other medical platforms, I chose shades of white, blue, and grey to represent MentalNote in a clean, sophisticated, and calm manner. The blue color emphasizes trust, which is crucial for therapy notes software due to the psychotherapist-patient privilege of confidentiality. For the secondary color palette, I used light shades of the rainbow to differentiate between various notifications and types of calendar appointments.
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User Testing
I conducted two rounds of user testing with five participants. I had users schedule an appointment, join a telehealth session, along with create and assign an assignment. Through this process, I gathered feedback from the participants and made iterations based on their frustrations and suggestions.
This graph displays how many of the 5 participants were able to easily complete the tasks. I gathered data from their frustrations to iterate solutions.
Frustrations
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Unable to see details of appointment requests
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Difficulty finding telehealth call
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Not sure which assignments were completed
Solutions
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Pop-up of appointment details opened when request is selected
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Added button of joining telehealth call on profile & appointment details
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Assignment progress bar added indicating in progress or completed
Version one
Updated Design
✖ Appointment requests lacking information
✖ No place to view all requests
✔ Pop-up of all appointment details
✔ Appointment accepted overlay
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Version one
✖ Accessibility issue of legibility
✖ Difficulty identifying notification
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Updated Design
✔ Clear notification categories
✔ Icon consistency with notification
Iterations
Additional iterations are pictured below.
Clear Appointment Request Details
Unable to see details of appointment requests
Pop-up of appointment request details
Added Telehealth Button for Easier Access
Difficulty finding Telehealth
Additional telehealths button added
Assignments Progress Bar Indicating Completed or in Progress
Unsure of status of assignment
Assignments progress bar added
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Results
Features
MentalNote provides all the fundamental features of other notetaking EHR platforms, while distinguishing itself with a unique assignments feature. Key functionalities include appointment scheduling, billing, documentation, note templates, telehealth, and more!
Simple Scheduling & Telehealth Calls
Appointment requests, event scheduling, and telehealth calls made simple!
Clients & Assignments
Add new clients and give assignments they can easily access to track their mental health progress!
Direct Messaging, Billing, Note Templates
Communicate directly with clients and staff, and easily access documents, billing, notes, and more with clear organization!
Impact
MentalNote enhances practitioners' efficiency by providing accessible features, reducing cognitive load and administrative burden. Its centralized data management and task-tracking tools improve workflow, allowing more focus on patient care. This efficiency anticipates increased client satisfaction and retention, supporting business growth. Post-launch, streamlined operations, and better client engagement will boost revenue and professional satisfaction.
Business Growth
Enhanced Efficiency & Work Flow
Increased Client and Professional Satisfaction
Reflection and Next Steps
While creating this case study, I encountered several key challenges. Managing the learning curve to ensure all users, regardless of their technical skills, could quickly adapt to the new system along with balancing complexity with usability to offer a platform without overwhelming users were key obstacles. Additionally, ensuring data privacy was essential, as the platform needed to comply with regulations like HIPAA to protect sensitive client and staff information. Overcoming these challenges helped me develop a user-friendly, reliable, and secure notetaking EHR platform.
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For my next steps, I would love to implement additional features and functions to the platform that I was unable to due to the scope of the project. Making the platform even more accessible with light and dark mode would be hugely beneficial for those visually impaired. In addition, giving users control of the language presented would also enhance accessibility. I learned a lot and developed my design skills through MentalNote!