Patient Application | Vapotherm
Symptom and device insights to support patients with COPD and their caregivers.
what i did
UI + Visual Design
User Research
tools
FigJam
Maze
timeline
overview
Vapotherm began the clinical development of a transportable oxygen therapy device aimed to help patients diagnosed with COPD manage and alleviate their symptoms.
While Vapotherm was developing the physical device, I was hired to design an ecosystem surrounding the device, supporting both Clinicians and COPD Patients.
the context
As the sole designer on the team, I designed a mobile application focused on symptom and device insights to support patients with COPD and their caregivers.
During the course of this project I...
Identified key workflows
Created the information architecture for the application
Designed low to high fidelity wireframes
Defined product look and feel
Conducted user testing and improved design based on findings
the preliminary research
Wait a minute... what is COPD?
COPD or "Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" is a disease that restricts your ability to breathe. This disease gets progressively worse over time, and while there is no cure for COPD, patients with COPD can learn to manage their symptoms.
The web of support
There is a support system surrounding COPD patients. This is comprised of Caregivers and Family, Health Care Providers (HCP), and Durable Medical Equipment Providers (DME).
While the ecosystem surrounding the device includes all of those included in this web of support, this product is targeted towards COPD patients and their Caregivers.
The problem
Research methods
Through conducting surveys, interviewing COPD patients, and reading previously conducted research reports, I uncovered pain points within the current patient experience.
pain points
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Communication
The care plan and device setup information patients receive from both their HCP and DME can be overwhelming, even if they have a caregiver taking notes.
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Symptom tracking
Patients struggle to remember to track symptoms
Symptom logging apps aren't intuitive and aren't designed for the specific needs of a COPD patient.
people
Caregiver & family support
Currently no concise way for caregivers and supporting family members to receive medical updates on patients, aside from peer to peer communication.
info
Device information
Device usage guidelines can be hard to access and understand for patients who are new to in-home medical devices.
Living day to day with COPD on an oxygen therapy device can be overwhelming and stressful for patients.
COPD patients have the added stressor that there is no cure for their disease, they HAVE to manage their symptoms for the rest of their life.
While having a quality oxygen therapy device alleviates symptoms, patients still need to constantly be aware of any potential regressive symptoms to avoid a trip to the hospital.
so, how can we make a difference?
I distilled the pain points into 3 grounding questions to lead me through the design process.
How might we...
enable users to feel confident in navigating their device?
empower users to live a healthy and stable life?
encourage users to track their symptoms daily?
let's iterate!
The must-haves
After further discussion with Vapotherm, we identified requirements for functions and services that this application must provide.
requirements
must included clinically approved symptom check-in designed for COPD patients
must include a distributed alarm system (DAS)
The structure
With the two requirements mentioned above in mind, I fleshed out what other key tasks and functions this application needed to offer to best support patients.
Active device therapy usage information
Historical symptom and device therapy usage data
Device instructions for use & simple alarm resolving steps
Invite & view caregivers
The wireframes
With the structure identified, I moved on to wireframing. Throughout the project, I focused on rapid iteration with time in between designing to discuss with the team about what is and isn't working and why.
The feedback
Feedback from early users showed that across the board, they were impressed at the simplicity of the experience.
Despite this, there was absolutely still room for improvement! Some items I identified for improvement were...
Increase touch target size for better accessibility
Simplify copy in alerts and notifications
Offer alternative access points for key workflows
The product - final deliverable
Track symptoms
Tracking symptoms consistently makes identifying downward health trends easier to catch, preventing time spent hospitalized.
Distributed device alarms
Patients and caregivers receive critical device alarms and notifications, as well as easy to follow next steps.
Stay on plan with therapy insights
Allows patients to easily view how much therapy they have completed to stay true to their prescribed health plan.
Easily re-order disposable items
Patients can easily track and replace their disposable interface items, ensuring safety and comfort without having to contact their care team.
what i learned
Prioritize, prioritize!
Being the only designer on the team and having two other products to work on was stressful at times, but I managed to learn how to better communicate and prioritize tasks.
Accessibility is non-negotiable
It's essential to consider accessibility, no matter the target audience or product sector. I learned quite a bit about designing with accessibility in mind, but there's always more to learn!