Improve clinical data entry in Varian EMR
Enterprise Product | May–Aug 2021
Varian Medical Systems is the world’s leading provider of radiation equipment and software to fight cancer. Since 1948, their vision is to create a world without fear of cancer.
My impact
Designed for new use cases
I designed flows for new use cases to seamlessly integrate with the existing design.
New design patterns
I took the initiative to optimize a frequently used design pattern, enhancing consistency and usability throughout the product.
Expanded Design System
I created a more consistent icon language, with 15+ existing icons updated to the grid.
Let’s look at one of my projects, start with the problem
Nurses in facilities without electronic medical records (EMRs) often rely on manual methods like Excel spreadsheets and paper charts. This can lead to inefficient information tracking and a higher risk of data loss.
Varian's Electronic Medical Records (EMR) empowers nurses with the flexibility of iPad or computer workstations on rolling carts. This allows for real-time data entry at the point of care, eliminating the risk of lost information. Ultimately, this enhances data accuracy and improves patient safety.
01. Background
The goal of my project is to help users record multiple-dose drugs that have been given to the patients (Example: Give anti-anxiety injection 2 times today if needed).
Why do we need to solve it now?
Before I joined, there’s some design established, this use case wasn’t been considered when creating the existing design, following the existing design pattern will create too much noise
02. My approach
Ramp up with ongoing research sessions
I observed ongoing research sessions that focus on drug administration first to familiarize with nurses’ existing process and challenges.
Nurses main challenge is they need to attend to multiple patients at the same time. So they need to…
Quickly capture drug status, instructions, patients’ allergy
Focuses on what’s happening now and next
Ensure data is accurately recorded
Improve user flow
The improved user flow defined a rule for all multi-dose drugs, users have to start the first dose before they can do any action on the next one. This eliminates manual counting, and help users understand the progress
Propose 2 design approaches
Approach 1 – Use existing “bucket” pattern
Pros: saves engineer effort
Cons: pushes down other important information
Approach 2 – A new “tabs” pattern
Pros: more space to explain the dosage
Cons: requires more clicks
03. Results: elevated design patterns beyond the initial use case
I proactively identified areas for design pattern improvement, developed 3 reusable patterns, and successfully advocated for their implementation across the team.
New icon to show multi-dose without adding too much noise
2. New interaction pattern: to help nurses quickly identify issues and move forward in their workflow, by default, upon opening this page, the completed bucket is collapsed. The first drug that needs to be given to the patient will be highlighted and the detail panel will be shown.
3. New layout pattern: I took the initiative to optimize a frequently used design pattern, enhancing consistency and usability throughout the product.
Previous design by colleague vs. my final design
04. My learnings
My design was tested and received positive feedback. This experience taught me to think holistically about product design, identifying opportunities to enhance the overall user experience beyond the initial use case.