InHealthRVA Web Design
Timeline:
October 2020 | 5 Weeks
My Role:
User Researcher & Content Strategist
Team:
Anthony Cheu
Alexandra Koeck-Schultz
Carolyn Pollack
Cindy Qin
Overview
InHealthRVA is a Richmond, VA based functional medicine clinic founded and run by Tressa Breindel. Functional medicine aims to treat patients uniquely and holistically, identifying the root causes of illness and developing a personalized treatment plan. The practice is hoping to improve the overall usability of their site and attract more patients.
Problem
With conventional medicine being what most Americans recognize and know, it's not an easy feat to convince people of alternative approaches to their health care. But for many people, conventional medicine isn’t cutting it. It’s hard to establish that trust that converts potential patients from FM skeptics to functional medicine devotees. Care at InHealthRVA is truly special and can be life-changing, but the website doesn’t emphasize this enough. Tressa and her team are often left repeatedly explaining to potential patients on the phone exactly what FM even is.
How might we increase value proposition online while also establishing more trust in FM care?
How might we minimize the amount of time Tressa spends answering questions on the phone so she can continue to devote time to her patients?
Solution
The Process
DISCOVER
Competitive Analysis
We first ran an analysis of (6) other functional medicine clinics to see how they organize their sites and educate users on Functional Medicine and the FM process. We turned to Richmond based clinicians as well as some of the leading FM practitioners across the country.
Key Takeaways:
InHealthRVA does a great job at encouraging users to schedule free consultations. They could be doing more to educate potential patients and build confidence in the process via FAQ’s and testimonials.
Contextual Analysis of the Existing Site
With our analysis in mind, we wanted to observe how users currently navigate the existing InHealthRVA site. What is working for them? What causes frustration or raises questions? Does the site instill a sense of trust?
Thoughts from Users:
“There is a lot going on on this site, a lot of text and images.”
“I want to see some more information from an external source about why this process is successful.”
“There is nothing really on the site that informs me that I am the right patient for the practice.”
User Interviews: What do people look for in health care practitioners?
As a patient:
I want to be heard
I want the doctor to know my story and case
It’s important that I trust my doctor
I want treatment that works and is carefully planned
I am happier with FM doctors because they:
Listen to me
Are thorough and look for root causes
Care about my overall quality of life
Think about the whole picture
Are proactive and don’t just give up
Are invested in me as a patient
DEFINE
Who is Our Target InHealthRVA User?
From here, we distilled these statements into the persona of Sarah, a fictional representation of the target user that could act as our guiding light during the ideation and design process.
Understanding Our User Further
I created a journey map outlining a user like Sarah’s current emotional journey on the existing InHealthRVA site. The dip we were ultimately aiming to address is within the realm of “Gaining Trust”.
Opportunities:
Incorporate reviews and customer testimonials to instill trust & confidence in InHealthRVA & the FM process
Utilize visuals to show how functional medicine differs from conventional medicine
Streamline copy around FM, the FM care process, and who FM is appropriate for
How Might We…
Turn potential patient's skepticism about FM into optimism?
Make the process of understanding FM and Tressa exciting and empowering, rather than overwhelming and unclear?
Instill confidence & trust in Tressa/the team through the website?
DESIGN
Design Goals: Establishing Our Own Roots
Iterations
After aligning on goals, our team launched into design. We began with design studios to get our ideas on paper before transitioning into the creation of lo-fidelity, mid-fidelity, and high-fidelity prototypes that we tested with (7) users.
Usability Testing
Along the way, we were testing if users were gaining a stronger sense of trust in the practice and had a better idea of what FM is. Based on feedback, major adjustments included:
Reducing copy, making sure remaining text is essential and informative
Restructuring the hierarchy on the home page to prioritize key offerings
Adding various types of testimonials, from reviews to videos of consenting patients
Including a comprehensive timeline of the FM process with InHealthRVA
Including imagery of the team and facility to set expectations
Copy is Key!
While my teammates were building wireframes and prototypes, I was gathering, writing, and reducing copy for our final prototype. Users really spoke to wanting a better sense of how special FM care is and how it can be personalized to fit their needs.
DELIVER
Take a look at some of our solutions:
FINAL THOUGHTS
Next Steps:
Gathering more metrics around usability and patient conversion
Continuing to adjust copy to be even more concise, informative, and personalized
Finding opportunities to include studies and research that supports the FM process
Eliminating the need for the marketing pamphlet PDF by incorporating this information onto the site
InHealthRVA and their marketing team are expected to implement our suggestions in the upcoming months
Reflection:
I came into this project knowing nothing about functional medicine- after getting to know Tressa and her patients at InHealthRVA, I was a full convert. This project proved to be a great example of how to find the common ground between the needs of the user and the business. It wasn’t always easy keeping both aspects at the forefront of our minds. The concept of “establishing trust” online is also not an easy feat, but is incredibly important.