HealthPartners – UX Designer

Solution

I helped lead the UX design for the Next Available Appointment feature, which allows patients to instantly book the earliest appointment that meets their preferences, such as location, provider type, and visit type. Instead of scrolling through calendars or checking multiple providers separately, users can select “Next Available” and confirm the earliest valid appointment.

This approach reduced cognitive load, decreased interaction time, and encouraged users to remain in the digital self-service experience.

The work was delivered through two iterative pilot phases that allowed the team to test, refine, and scale the experience within a complex healthcare environment.

Pilot 1 – Appointment Scheduling Flow (Primary Care)

Soft Launch

We introduced the feature within the logged-in scheduling flow and focused on delivering patient value quickly. I worked closely with product and engineering partners to integrate Next Available into existing workflows, guided by historical insights, analytics, and prior usability findings.

Leadership selected a soft-launch approach without formal pre-release testing, so I defined success measures, monitored user behavior post-launch, and synthesized real-world feedback to identify needed refinements. Multiple product teams collaborated to deliver the feature incrementally, ensuring continuity and stability across the platform.

First iteration of Next Available in the online scheduling flow

Pilot 2 – Find Care Directory + Additional Filters

Refinement and Scaled Rollout

Based on the lessons learned from the first phase, I conducted in-depth research to understand both behavioral patterns and usability gaps. This included human-centered design research, competitor benchmarking, and exploration of multiple interaction models.

I developed and tested simplified flows that balanced user expectations, system complexity, and operational constraints. Working cross-functionally, we refined and launched enhancements that made the experience faster, clearer, and easier to complete across both logged-in and public browsing contexts.

Once validated, the improved version was rolled out across scheduling and directory experiences.

Result

The redesigned scheduling experience significantly improved online booking performance and reduced reliance on call centers.

Measured outcomes included:

  • 7% reduction in scheduling drop-off

  • 30% increase in completed online bookings

  • 4 million dollars in additional bi-weekly revenue

  • Faster appointment access for patients

  • Reduced operational strain for call centers

  • A scalable scheduling capability is now used across the digital care platform

This work demonstrates system-level UX thinking, measurable business impact, and patient-centered design within a regulated healthcare environment.

Problem

Patients were calling clinics for routine appointments because the online scheduling experience was slow, confusing, and required too many manual steps. Call centers became overwhelmed, wait times increased, and both patients and staff grew frustrated.

Our objective was to make online booking just as fast and intuitive as calling, while supporting both the public “Find Care” directory and the logged-in appointment scheduling flow.