Advising hospice care professionals when pain medication is appropriate, and the proper dosing
iOS • ANDROID • FLUTTER
The Audience
Hospice and palliative care physicians who need to dose a new patient, or convert the patient to a new opioid to allow for a comfortable end of life.
The Problem
Opioid dosing and converting is difficult, and because of this, physicians can be apprehensive on where to start. Not only is there math involved, but patient-specific factors such as unique symptoms, underlying medical conditions and health status can impact what dose a patient should receive.
The Process
Research
The first goal was to become an expert on opioid dosing and conversion myself. To do so, I studied Demystifying Opioid Conversion Calculations by Mary Lynn McPherson. Copious notes were taken, key points highlighted and questions were gathered to take to our expert board of doctors.
The process was then explained by the board of doctors as well. They were able to answer any questions. They provided a variety of materials and documents that had helped them in this conversion before.
A pain point survey was also conducted with healthcare professional to identify the key problem areas to solve.
Initial Wireframes
Wireframes were started and reviewed at each stage with the board of doctors. Feedback was incorporated into the designs.
The application had to be HIPAA compliant and medically accurate.
Prototypes & User Testing
Several iterations of prototypes were made and tested with hospice and palliative care professionals. So many prototypes! These were performed through both usertesting.com and in-person with those local to us.
One of the key takeaways was “show the math” so the users could trust what the application was doing behind the scenes.
Visual Design Exploration
Once the user experience was defined, an aesthetic wash was applied to the designs. It needed to reflect the VITAS brand but also provide value to the experience.
Several iterations of visuals were looked at. By keep colors limited and simple, this was found to put users more at ease and trust in the apps professional nature.
Launch Materials
Visuals were created for the app store, press kit and various marketing. Highlight videos of the application were also created using After Effects and Premiere.
My Role
Primary Researcher, UX & UI Designer
Consulted VITAS Board of Physicians for accuracy & legalities
Designed in collaboration with Grace Ficke
Results
MUX Award Winner for Social Impact
Participants said the calculator increased their confidence in opioid conversion
Doctor support, "the tool is intuitive, efficient, secure and updated on an ongoing basis to provide the latest information on guidelines and changes in medication status." –Dr. Shega