Product Type
Responsive web app
Contribution
Led product design
Goal
The goal of the project was to reduce the time physicians spend on administrative tasks. Our physician clients were eager to utilize new AI chat capabilities in a manner that addressed their unique struggles and complied with HIPAA regulations. While they had many ideas for innovative features and a full comprehensive Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, they also wanted a product launched quickly, so we agreed to build an MVP to prioritize the most impactful features.
We conducted user interviews with a diverse range of physicians to identify their most pertinent pain points, and weighed which had viable, desirable and feasible solutions that we could validate with an MVP.
"Pippen has been an absolute game changer for me in regards to my clinical efficiency. My documentation time has been reduced by at least 75%. I can't say enough about how significant a shift it's made for me."
- User and customer, Dr. Thomas Debssou
Mobile screens showing the transcription flow.
Approach
From user interviews, we uncovered five actionable areas we could utilize AI to reduce cognitive burden and time spent on admin: SOAP notes (appointment summaries), writing referrals, writing prescriptions, differential diagnosis support and billing and diagnostic codes. These five areas became the primary prompts for the product. Billing and diagnostic codes were an area that no competitors had addressed yet, and provided an opportunity for us to offer unique value.
We also identified variety in how (typing vs. dictation) and when (before, during or after an appt., or a combination of) physicians completed their administrative tasks. These factors informed the user flow and product features to accommodate different workflow preferences. User interviews also indicated that the majority of doctors used desktops devices at work, and there was a lot of variety across hardware and operating systems. As a result, we opted to create a responsive web app to work on any screen size or device. With this strategy in mind, I utilized Material UI to efficiently create our MVP for validation.
"Such thoughtful and beautiful designs. We're so excited to see it in action."
- Mary and AJ, the clients
Users begin by selecting between text or audio. This view shows a collapsed side menu.
While a recording is in progress, the user can pause or end it. The chat bar and prompts are disabled while recording is in progress.
Once a recording is completed, the user has the option to edit it, giving them the opportunity to add any additional details or resolve any dictation errors.
Once a transcript has been submitted, the chat bar and prompts are enabled. The user has Pippen create SOAP notes.
Additional administrative tasks - referral letter.
Additional administrative tasks - billing and diagnostic codes.
Design and Outcome
My design solution is a chat interface that physicians feed information to either by recording and transcribing an appointment (with patient consent) or simply typing notes. Once this referential information has been entered, the physician can engage with Pippen regarding what they have entered, asking questions and requesting administrative tasks based on the information they've provided.
The product was launched in early 2024 and is currently in use across several medical practices in Ontario.
