Developing trust for doctors and empathy for patients
Developing trust for doctors and empathy for patients
Symptom monitoring with the Script Assist patient app
Symptom monitoring with the Script Assist patient app
Script Assist
Script Assist
Script Assist was designed to bridge the gaps in medical cannabis prescribing, ensuring patients who need it can access it and doctors who prescribe it can remain confident and compliant.
Script Assist was designed to bridge the gaps in medical cannabis prescribing, ensuring patients who need it can access it and doctors who prescribe it can remain confident and compliant.
Team
Team
Engineering
Engineering
2
2
Design
Design
1
1
The problem
The problem
Whilst there was no legal requirement to monitor symptoms, there is a legal requirement for a doctor to demonstrate that treatment is working to continue prescribing.
Whilst there was no legal requirement to monitor symptoms, there is a legal requirement for a doctor to demonstrate that treatment is working to continue prescribing.
Patients needed a way to track their prescriptions and symptoms, and doctor’s needed a way to monitor progress over time as well as prescribe the cannabis in order to remain.
Patients needed a way to track their prescriptions and symptoms, and doctor’s needed a way to monitor progress over time as well as prescribe the cannabis in order to remain.
The approach needed
The approach needed
Low cognitive load for the patient
Low cognitive load for the patient
Flexibility in usage for different levels of discomfort
Flexibility in usage for different levels of discomfort
Rigorous enough for the doctor
Rigorous enough for the doctor
Not seen as a burden to drive engagement for both
Not seen as a burden to drive engagement for both
For the patient
For the patient
Ensuring the design had low cognitive load was key for symptom tracking as users were often in pain or fatigued, often dealing with an array of problems. Symptom tracking needed to be easy enough to understand with minimal friction, but comprehensive enough for it to be valuable to doctors.
Ensuring the design had low cognitive load was key for symptom tracking as users were often in pain or fatigued, often dealing with an array of problems. Symptom tracking needed to be easy enough to understand with minimal friction, but comprehensive enough for it to be valuable to doctors.
I started the designs off using the Numeric Rating Scale (0-10), but user testing quickly demonstrated that whether 0 or 10 was high or low was very much up for debate. This was meant to be a check-in, not a confusing form. Instead, I reverse-codified the scale to match smiley faces inline with clinical groupings.
I started the designs off using the Numeric Rating Scale (0-10), but user testing quickly demonstrated that whether 0 or 10 was high or low was very much up for debate. This was meant to be a check-in, not a confusing form. Instead, I reverse-codified the scale to match smiley faces inline with clinical groupings.
This was far easier to understand. There was no debate as to whether a sad face meant good or bad.
This was far easier to understand. There was no debate as to whether a sad face meant good or bad.
For the doctor
For the doctor
The results still came through to the doctors numerically, and they were happy to be given groups instead of a specific number out of 10. This reduced the load of answers from 10 to 5, providing a compromise so that both the doctor and patient got the value they needed from it. We added the ability for patients to write an optional note. I chose against making that a required field to not add pressure to the experience (before knowing how hard it would be for them to track their symptoms in the first place).
The results still came through to the doctors numerically, and they were happy to be given groups instead of a specific number out of 10. This reduced the load of answers from 10 to 5, providing a compromise so that both the doctor and patient got the value they needed from it. We added the ability for patients to write an optional note. I chose against making that a required field to not add pressure to the experience (before knowing how hard it would be for them to track their symptoms in the first place).
This catered to patients and doctors in situations that found extra help beneficial as well as scenarios where it would have been more of a burden than not.
This catered to patients and doctors in situations that found extra help beneficial as well as scenarios where it would have been more of a burden than not.
Impact
Impact
This feature built a lot of trust and confidence with doctors. Focus groups revealed far more interest than before and more clinics wanted to sign on to use the product.
This feature built a lot of trust and confidence with doctors. Focus groups revealed far more interest than before and more clinics wanted to sign on to use the product.
100% of patients who were given the app to use were able to use it without any issues, and doctors found the insights valuable, enabling them to confidently re-prescribe as well as offer treatments to new patients.
100% of patients who were given the app to use were able to use it without any issues, and doctors found the insights valuable, enabling them to confidently re-prescribe as well as offer treatments to new patients.
This opened up conversations and potential for what Script Assist could develop into, starting us on the path towards developing a full tele-health service.
This opened up conversations and potential for what Script Assist could develop into, starting us on the path towards developing a full tele-health service.