Michael Hellen > ezyVet Improved Workflow

NOTE: This large and complex workflow redesign was led by me in collaboration with design, product, and engineering teams. I simplified this portfolio entry but am happy to discuss it in more detail.

Background

ezyVet is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software designed to streamline the administrative and clinical operations of veterinary practices. It offers features such as appointment scheduling, patient records management, billing, inventory tracking, and reporting. ezyVet aims to improve efficiency by offering endless configuration possibilities to address each hospital’s individual needs.


Examples of current design


Problem statement

The challenge with endless configuration possibilities is the resulting complexity, lack of standardized workflows, and a steep learning curve that can take months or even years to master. For the user this means more time spent completing clinical notes and lost potential revenue. I describe ezyVet as Software as a Self-service rather than Software as a Service. Customer feedback and low NPS scores underscore the significant difficulties users face. If we can simplify the workflow, users will be able to spend less time on the site and more time with patients, and increase their revenue by reducing missed charges.

Goals

  • Reduce time spent writing clinical notes.

  • Reduce learning curve to onboard new users.

  • Create best practice workflow to reduce need for complex configurations.

  • Improve charge capture from estimate to treatment to invoice.

  • Increase customer satisfaction.

Design considerations

  • Our users are busy treating animals and often have their hands full, which prevents them from learning new technology.

  • There are 114k current users with plans to grow to 400k users in three years.

  • Current users are resistant to change because they’ve invested significant time into learning the complex interface and configuring the product.

  • It takes several months to years for new users to feel comfortable using ezyVet.

  • How do we satisfy current users while making it easier for new users?

  • How do we build a robust billing model that reduces missed charges?

The plan

After gathering related data and customer feedback, we identified a couple key areas for improvement. First, improve the note-taking capabilities and include a patient questionnaire that clients can complete prior to the appointment. Second, define a system to define how products flow from estimates to treatment to invoice. These improvements aim to address user concerns, enhance efficiency, and improve overall user satisfaction with ezyVet.

Clinical notes

Accurate clinical notes are vital for record keeping and understanding patients’ past treatments. Vets currently spend many hours, often outside work hours, completing these notes.

Current framework

To maintain user equity, I audited the current framework to determine how features could be applied to a proposed framework.

  1. Basis for the new workflow, based on appointment type

  2. Move to patient card

  3. Move to notes

  4. Move to tab

  5. Move to right pane

  6. Move to pre-appointment check

  7. Move to action buttons bar

  8. Move to overflow action button

  9. Remove

  10. TBD

Proposed framework

Wireframe

Latest mockup

The designs went through several iterations based on learnings from user feedback and testing, as well as better understanding from internal subjective matter experts and additional data. A few areas of improvements include combining notes into one tab, expanding on the patient questionnaire, and including previous clinical information.

Patient questionnaire concept

After speaking with users, the idea of a patient questionnaire that can be sent to a client to complete before the appointment proved to be very popular since it would save them time. To expand on the feature, I mapped out a model to illustrate how a questionnaire can work with their templates.

Treatment plan flow

In the current design, there isn’t a clear path for capturing charges for an appointment. Users need to re-enter items on the invoice from the estimate, and invoiced products then flow backward into the treatment plan. To improve this, I created a flowchart illustrating how products could logically travel through an appointment from estimate to treatment to invoice. This flowchart will guide the next phase of treatment plan improvements.

Proposed product flow

Product Flow Example

To be continued

This is an ongoing project using an evolutionary approach to redesign ezyVet. In the meantime we are continually updating the design based on feedback from CAB (customer advisory board) sessions and pilot customers.

 

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