For mobile users: This page is best viewed on a desktop. To view this case study on Figma, click here.
Navigating health coverage is a uniquely American challenge that often feels confusing and isolating.
Even with apps designed to assist people with specific insurance plans, many still find themselves overwhelmed in urgent situations, unsure where to turn for reliable information without the risk of unexpected costs.
I set out to explore solutions for this complex landscape and identify the most significant pain points tied to these challenges.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Preliminary Surveys: Finding a Topic
I wanted my final capstone project to be completely absent of personal bias or desire, driven only by the people’s needs.
The first step I took was engaging my 900 instagram followers to explore general interests through it’s survey tool.
50% of users voted for Healthcare as the preferred topic.
I ran a second survey with 27 responses to refine the topic within Healthcare.
52% of users selected Health Insurance as the area of greatest interest.
By employing iterative user feedback, I ensured my content strategy was data-driven and aligned with audience preferences.
Searching For Answers: User Interviews
To validate assumptions and gather user insights, I conducted 6 verbal interviews and an online Typeface Survey focusing on:
General Understanding
How proficient was user’s clarity on their health insurance coverage?
Challenges in Accessing Information
What were the disconnections and emotions associated with the pathways users chose?
Decision-Making Confidence
Did users feel empowered in the process of finding important resources?
Key Insight: Users experience significant confusion and frustration, highlighting the need for clearer, more accessible health insurance information.
To view this file on Figma, click here.
To view Typeform survery results, click here.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Affinity Mapping: Tensions Uncovered for Opportunity
While categorizing users' evident pain points from their statements, I observed three significant areas of tension that became clear through their own cognitive dissonance. These were closely tied to a single inquiry: Discovery Pathways.
1. Website Accessibility
The primary pain point revealed for users was information accessibility, particularly on mobile devices, where websites are often less user-friendly.
2. Transparency Issues with Phone Support
Users reported significant frustration due to a lack of verbal transparency, leading to broken trust and delays in accessing critical information.
3. Underutilization of Mobile Apps
Only 2/20 users interviewed reported using their insurance company’s mobile app for reliable coverage information.
This highlighted a major opportunity to improve mobile app functionality and design for better accessibility and transparency.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Supplemental Survey: Why weren’t users using their health insurance’s mobile apps?
I set out to further understand why people aren’t using their insurance company’s mobile apps to access healthcare coverage information.
I surveyed 9 participants (average age: 45), all with health insurance.
Findings:
7 out of 9 knew their insurance provider had a mobile app... only 4 actually used it.
Those who used their app rated it just 3.4 out of 5 on average.
Of the users who did not use it, barriers such as login and poor communication proved their coverage membership apps to be low value to understanding whether their treatments would be covered.
With this information now revealed, I understood the types of features to focus on for competitive research and pattern ideation.
To view Typeform survey results, click here.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Competitive Analysis:
Do Open Source Healthcare Tools in Existence Currently Solve User Issues?
After analyzing HealthBird, Zocdoc, and Oscar’s Member App, I concluded that I could design a more intuitive platform by addressing the following key areas:
Simplifying navigation for a seamless user experience.
Expanding access to coverage details options to empower users.
Integrating new tech like Ai to provide valuable resources like a health insurance glossary.
Ensuring casual mobile accessibility for all users, not just members.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
ideation Crystallization: Marrying Success with Necessity
As themes and tensions emerged out of my user and competitive research, I mused on how insurance apps struggle with engagement because the topic feels overwhelming and dry.
The boredom with this topic combined with anxiety makes users avoid interacting with their healthcare needs in general.
And then thought about most successful apps in existence, like Craigslist, Facebook, and Instagram, and how they create a sense of community. I also reflected on the most successful social media tools of the past decade—what makes them effective? How can I blend recent innovations like AI with what users crave most to address their pain points?
I came to the conclusion that adding a social element will make my mvp more engaging and effective.
The main challenge is finding a way to balance community and privacy, via HIPPA.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Pattern Analysis: Exploring Features
Now that I had a concept, I wanted to explore and gather my favorite UI patterns and features from other apps and imagine how to implement them into useful health coverage tools.
Such examples included:
How Facebook users ask for local provider recommendations using their real names—how can we make this private?
RetailMeNot’s live coupon success rate feature, which could be adapted to show live verification of local providers accepting your insurance, based on feedback from other patients in your area.
The technical language used by closed-member apps for navigating healthcare coverage, and how to create an open-source version that’s easy for casual, on-the-go users.
How Reddit’s forum patterns can be transformed into local health community discussions.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Impactful features: What has never existed before?
Better yet, what kinds of features have never been able to exist before current technologies - like AI? Re-focusing on users' pain points as my “north star” per se, I prioritized feature ideas that would offer the most unique value.
These features don’t exist on public sites like ZocDoc and Healthbird, nor do they appear in closed-member apps specific to healthcare coverage companies.
These features became:
1. A Smart Insurance Analyzer, driven by Ai tools.
2. A Community Forum Platform, protecting user’s identity.
3. A Provider Search, specific to your insurance and locale.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
The Storyboard: Connecting with Confidence
Instead of creating personas, I focused on showing how users would discover the app and how enjoyable it is to use compared to existing healthcare resources.
The story follows a user who needs surgery but is unsure about her coverage. She struggles with her health insurance app and feels frustrated. After failing to log in, her friend introduces her to a new app.
This app connects users with similar insurance policies in their area, offering a safe space to share insights anonymously, unlike Facebook.
The app helps her feel more informed, confident, and less isolated by easily connecting her with others to better understand her coverage.
Marketing and Compliance Grid: Covering All Bases
From a business perspective, it was essential to assess how the app could be developed within healthcare regulations and legal constraints, along with the implications of using AI.
With this understanding, I gained confidence to move into the wireframing stage, knowing the boundaries of my features and keeping them as streamlined as possible.
If ever developed, this document would serve as a key foundation, providing talking points for the project team while considering the real-world constraints and efforts needed to bring the product to fruition.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Task Flows: Continuity-Centered Design
Before starting low-fidelity wireframing, it was crucial to define the task flows for each feature. This approach allowed me to align the UX patterns with each step in the flow, frame by frame.
This step was particularly important in this process, considering that the primary goal of my project was to alleviate the pain points caused by disjointed, barrier-ridden, opaque, and fragmented information systems that users had become accustomed to enduring during their healthcare experiences.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.
Impactful features: What has never existed before?
Better yet, what kinds of features have never been able to exist before current technologies - like AI? Re-focusing on users' pain points as my “north star” per se, I prioritized feature ideas that would offer the most unique value.
These features don’t exist on public sites like ZocDoc and Healthbird, nor do they appear in closed-member apps specific to healthcare coverage companies.
These features became:
1. A Smart Insurance Analyzer, driven by Ai tools.
2. A Community Forum Platform, protecting user’s identity.
3. A Provider Search, specific to your insurance and locale.
Click on image to expand, to zoom open in new tab.