Guided Assessments
Led a cross functional redesign of a post hospitalization tool, delivering a clinician centered workflow that streamlined care delivery and drove a 110-point NPS turnaround.
Company
Role
Year
DaVita
Design Lead
2024 - 2025
The Challenge
A tool that created more problems than it solved
In 2024, DaVita launched Care Pathways, an EHR-native application intended to help Registered Nurses (RNs) provide relevant follow-up actions after a patient's hospitalization.
The idea of guiding clinical outreach to reduce repeat hospital visits was sound, but the app caused more delays than intended.
RNs found the user experience overwhelming, bloated with redundant questions, & disorganized clinical sections.
However, there was signal, as the structure was helpful for newer nurses. There was potential to simplify, refocus, & redesign.
"Is this a tool or a threat?"
"The charting expectation across Cerner is unhinged."
"It feels like they are babysitting us."
Bloated Input Volume
The application required RNs to input far too much information even for quick phone calls—over 70 fields led to clinician burnout.
Disorganized Clinical Flow
Because the clinical workflow wasn't created with the user in mind, RNs were forced to skip around the application while intaking patient data.
Free Text Overreliance
The application forced RNs to "write a story" about their phone call, while free text areas didn't correlate to a real world experience.
The Design Approach
From EHR-native to the Smartapp ecosystem
Alongside my product & technical partners, we proposed to rebuild Care Pathways as a standalone SMART on FHIR application, removing it from Oracle Cerner's constraints while integrating it into our growing suite of connected clinical tools.
This shift was focused on changing the design philosophy behind the product as engaged in a robust discovery process.
Discovery process used to align product, design, and engineering
Step 1
Audit
Evaluated workflows to identify friction & redundancy
Step 2
Backlog Review
Cross referenced insights with active product priorities
Step 3
Impact Matrix
Prioritized opportunities with engineering
Step 4
How Might We
Synthesized insights into aligned problem statements
Step 5
Wireframes
Translated direction into early workflows for team review
Usability Audit
Pathway Landing Page
- Lack of one click entry to open a Pathway from the 'Available Pathways' section
- Inability to edit completed Pathways & unclear usage of Suggested Pathways
- Disconnect from hospitalization data, which helps drive completion
Application Page
- No obvious connection between input (left column) and user action (right column)
- Lack of decision hierarchy for user actions connected to patient treatment
- Inclusion of dead link (Show All Treatment Options) across app
Workflow
- User forced to scroll up to recall Treatment Options (recommended actions)
- Inability to save work while completing form lead to wasted time
- Lack of visibility into entirety of input section in progress
Completion Process
- Unclear Pathway status once the input & output data is complete
- Inaccurate call to action description for Active Pathways
- Treatment Options locked inside Pathway once Completion is clicked
Impact Matrix
As the audit concluded, I cross referenced product's backlog priorities with usability enhancements. Then, I created an impact matrix to create the design roadmap for the project.
To ensure the roadmap was solidified and the impact-effort dynamic was accurate, I collaborated with engineering to co-create the early stages of the application.
High Impact
Low Impact
Streamline completion process by consolidating save & complete sections
Increase time to value for user by facilitating relevant actions to drive patient behavior and healthier outcomes
Enable a permanently fixed column for the Treatment Options Data, reducing user's cognitive load
More clearly connect data input and treatment output data & link CTAs to specific actions for relevant data
Better connect Care Pathways to Care Plan component to better enable continuous patient care
Build a comparison pane within the application to compare current patient data entries to past patient data entries
Include tasking from within Pathways to set up action lists for other clinicians to follow up on specific patient logisitcs
Summarize previous 2-day pathways or other Care Pathways to match the selected new one in progress
Allow for required fields questions so users can see which questions are most important
Create interconnected prompts that become more or less relevant as the RN moves through the form
Enable read only fields that allow the user to better understand context for patient care
Remove the functionality for documentation off pathway or other unused features within the existing app
Separate lines for binary responses to better improve reporting data pipelines
Add a fill from form to allow an RN to upload documents like Discharge Summaries
Automate Activity Log entry that saves each conversation between RN and patients
Enhance conditional prompts based on previous pathway entries with relevant suggestions
Impact matrix prioritizes opportunities with engineering.
How Might We & Wireframes
With the majority of the product discovery process in the rearview, it was time to move into synthesis and engage in the design refinement.
To synthesize insights, I created How Might We statements for major issues the team identified. Then, I used quick tools in Figjam to create lightweight wireframes as the design framework came to life.
How Might We questions & wireframes synthesize insight while aligning collaborators.
Designing the Solution
A more focused experience
From sketches to high fidelity UI, I led the full end-to-end design effort. The primary challenge was balancing clinical nuance with intuitive usability.
Every element was designed with clarity in consideration of the clinical context. The app is a building block in the growing ecosystem of smartapps within the Cerner EHR.
Modular Workflows
- Reduced noise & surfaced only what's relevant to each patient
- Greater clinical customization across any role using the application
- Easily view all relevant actions the clinical user can take on behalf of the patient
Smarter Inputs
- Replaced long, narrative-driven text fields with guided select and multi-select inputs
- Leveraged UX research to understand what's most important to clinicians
- Progress and completion indicators enable seamless scanning with data-dense interfaces
Custom Components & Prototype
I designed a custom component built for the app's unique needs, expanding beyond our standard design system.
During this process, I leveraged prototyping capabilities to communicate design decisions & intent to stakeholders.
Solution Quickview
Results
The Guided Assessment Application launched in Q4 2025. With a total total investment above $1 million, it's a direct reflection of the strategic value this tool holds for the business. Alongside an unprecedented turnaround in NPS, the completion rate witnessed a massive increase—from about 30% to 96%. Together, these metrics highlight the effectiveness of aligning the platform around connected care.
+110
Point turnaround in NPS score
"Very user friendly & definitely easier on the eyes than the other model. With the radio buttons, it makes everything much easier."
"There are many features I'm happy about, nice that it shows progress. This is great for established & new nurses."
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