Simplifying Medication Management
Case Study | 7 Min Read
My Role
User Research
UX/UI Design
Testing
Prototyping
Advisors
Roger Mader ↗
Criswell Lappin ↗
Sean Ferry ↗
Umila Singh ↗
Type
4 Product Designer
Client
St. Joseph's Health
Timeline
Sep '23 - Dec '23
Simplifying Medication Management After Discharge
Each year, millions of patients are discharged from hospitals, and many leave confused about their medications.
Over 15 weeks, we worked with St. Joseph’s Health to design PillPro, a solution that helps patients better understand and manage their prescriptions through clear instructions, friendly reminders, and simple tools.
A short concept video showing how PillPro helps patients manage their meds from hospital to home - simple, clear, and stress-free.
Defining the problem ⚡
Millions of patients leave the hospital with new prescriptions, but many don’t fully understand them. The papers are hard to follow, conversations are too fast, and that leads to missed doses or even a trip back to the hospital.
60% of patients misunderstand one or more dosage instructions, even immediately after receiving prescription information
Lack of medication adherence contributes to approximately 125,000 preventable deaths each year in the United States.
Unplanned hospital readmissions cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $17.4 billion annually.
Digging deeper 🔍
To understand this, we visited St. Joseph’s Hospital to observe the discharge process and also interviewed:
Patients often hesitate to ask for clarification, even when they don’t understand.
Most patients had skipped medication, usually just because they forgot.
Printed handouts are full of jargon, hard to read, and easy to discard.
Hospital apps are clunky, and alarm apps require too much setup.
Most reliable drug information is only available in English, limiting access.
Who are we designing for 👤
Our interviews revealed the need to support both independent patients and caregivers managing for others.
Just discharged. Foggy, anxious, and overwhelmed by complex instructions.
Needs clarity, simplicity, and reassurance.
Often a family member handling medication for a parent or partner.
Needs quick access to reliable information.
Framing the challenge ⚡
Objective & Goals 🎯
Feel more confident in understanding and taking medications correctly at home.
Provide clear, accessible medication support that patients can rely on after discharge.
Reduce preventable readmissions to improve recovery outcomes and build long-term trust with patients after discharge.
Introducing
Simplifying Medication Management
PillPro helps patients feel confident about their medications after discharge. We designed both a physical guide and a mobile app to simplify confusing instructions, offer timely reminders, and support recovery at home.
Every feature in PillPro was designed to tackle a specific problem we heard in interviews, from hard-to-read instructions to missed doses. We built two coordinated tools:
Clear, color-coded, and personalized, meant to live on the kitchen counter for easy daily reference.
See real medication images alongside names and dosages for quick and easy recognition.
Understand drugs with both generic and brand names for clarity.
Get clear guidance on when and how much to take with simple visuals.
Know important warnings, interactions, and safety tips before taking medicine.
Learn how medications help your health and their expected benefits.
Identify possible side effects with icons for informed decision-making.
Offers medication reminders, pill checklists, and diagnosis info, right in your pocket.
Ideas, feedback, and A/B testing 🧪
Each of us quickly explored 8 concepts in 8 minutes, leading to three promising directions:
Some team members leaned toward a digital app. Others believed a physical tool would be more practical. Rather than guess, we tested both options with users.
We created wireframes for the app and mockups for the printed list and labeled bottles.
Printed Medication List & Scratch-off Labels
App with Checklist, Diagnostics & Reminders
Then we ran A/B testing with 5 users, assigning tasks to compare the two formats.
Patients liked having a printed, color-coded guide they could stick on the fridge.
Alerts and pill checklists made it easier to understand their medication and stay on track.
The sticker felt too too small and impractical especially for older adults with vision issues.
So, we combined the best of both, the trust and clarity of a physical guide, with the convenience and flexibility of a digital companion.
Patients rated PillPro highly for making complex instructions feel simpler and less overwhelming.
Patients stuck to their schedule twice as often with PillPro than with the hospital handout.
People said the customized medication sheet made it easier to follow instructions and stay on track.
Healthcare professionals loved PillPro and said it would help their patients greatly.
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