UofM Hospitals

Client

The University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine, Dexter site.

Role

UX Researcher 

Challenge 

The inefficiency in the Check-in/ out process.

Solution

Our primary goal for this project was to examine the check-in and check-out processes at their Dexter clinic and provide recommendations for streamlining these processes.

Process

Using the contextual inquiry research method, we conducted the following steps to achieve this goal:

Conducted contextual interviews

To begin our process, we initially interviewed the Office Manager to better understand the organization as a whole and identify staff members who were involved with the check-in/check-out process on a daily basis. Based on her recommendations, we later interviewed ten members of the organization.  The interviews included shadowing and observing the following staff members as well as asking questions about their process:

• Check-in Staff (2)

• Medical Assistants (2)

• Physicians (2)

• Medical Assistant Lead

• Administrative Lead

• Check-out Staff

• Front Support

Interpreted these interviews and built visual models

Following each interview, we reviewed the notes and recordings and captured any key information gained from the interview. We used this information to understand each staff member’s role within the patient visit process.

After these interpretation sessions, we represented the flow of information through a series of flow and sequence diagrams (See Figure 1). These diagrams helped us understand how information was passed through each member of the organization and allowed us to communicate where breakdowns in information occured.

Built an affinity wall

An affinity wall is a research tool used to help visualize relationships among data and information flow gathered from interviews, wherein individual interview notes are grouped into progressively broader thematic categories. We used key information from the interviews and interpretation sessions and organized the data into different categories.

Findings

• Interconnectedness of individual work—no one works in isolation

• Reliance on software systems

• Reliance on paper for information sharing and communication

• Focus on patient-centered workflow and continuous improvement

Recommendations based on these findings:

• Develop a formal system for sharing skills and best practices among staff

• Pay continued attention to issues of patient access

• Build stronger relationships between physicians and other staff

• Create a forum where employees can provide feedback and requests regarding MiChart

• Post clearer term definitions in office spaces

• Formalize printing guidelines