Rebecca Fletcher

UX DESIGNER

"I had an excellent experience learning in the LWIT BASD program. The professors were supportive and inspiring!"

Over the last decade Rebecca worked as a clinical dental hygienist that always prioritized positive patient experience in the dental chair. Applying the wisdom gain through positive patient interactions, she began exploring more ways to create positive experiences which lead her to UX design. She has spent the last two years completing a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Design with the goal of securing an impactful career as a user experience designer. During her time in academia, she collaborated with several talented designers including Asha Thomas and Sage Abplanalp to create deliverables that delight and inspire. Rebecca approaches design with empathy and flexibility ensuring designs are executed with intention and mindfulness. Her design practice applies non-linear design thinking, user research, and strong documentation, as well as an unyielding focus on the user. Rebecca enjoys backpacking and cooking with wild edibles.

My Mouth

DENTAL CARE IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

Project Overview

I created a dental patient portal that allows patients to track and better understand their oral health status. The hope was to offer collaboration and transparency between patient and provider.

As a former dental hygienist, I was able to connect with patients and educate. I worked to convert a setting that is oftentimes considered scary and stressful, into something that put the patient at ease, and (dare I say) sparked joy in both myself and the patient. By focusing on the user-experience of a patient portal, I hope to learn what users' preferences are, and what they need to improve their health. By attending to user needs and education I hypothesize patient oral health and dental IQ will improve and result in happier and healthier patients, lower restorative needs, and increased patient-provider trust.

My primary goal for this project was to create a more patient focused dental patient portal that went beyond just collecting payments. I wanted to create a portal that would also help educate the patient and keep them informed on their oral health status, while creating a charting system that reduced the stress and fear that dental often causes.

Process Work

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RESEARCH

During my research process I began by exploring what I already knew working as a dental clinician. I read Healthcare Digital Transformation to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic effected the healthcare industry's way of providing care. I then administered surveys to a variety of users including patients and clinicians.

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DESIGN PROCESS

My design process included a discovery phase, which included reviewing articles, competitive analysis, and reviewing survey results. After digesting a lot of my research, I was able to define what the project needed to focus on. I then moved into my ideation phase which included establishing personas, moodboarding, sketching, visual identity exploration and wireframing. After completing my wireframes l began further exploration of visual identity by stylizing the prototype. During this phase, I established the logo, typography, and color palette for the portal. During my user testing phase, I conducted several moderated in-person explorative usability tests. This step offered me insight to a variety of wants and needs by my users. After completing tests, I made several updates to better meet usability needs. Overall this process was linear with an occasional back track to revisit ideas and make modifications to the design.

Deliverables

I ended up designing 27 frames for my prototype which included a login, dashboard, tooth chart, radiograph viewer, and oral health care recommendations.

Conclusion

Overall I feel I was able to execute the goal of the project which was to build a patient oriented dental chart that educated and informed the patient. During this process I learned that usability testing is invaluable when designing. I'm always humbled by what I didn't know I didn't know during user testing. If this project were to continue, I'd start by completing the remaining frames needed like billing, perio chart, and direct messaging. To get the project fully running I would need to find a host for the portal which was a wicked problem left unsolved...for now.