Bugs+Drugs
Leverage large datasets to fight drug resistance in bacteria.
COMPANY
athenahealth
ROLE
UX Team Lead
EXPERTISE
Strategy, UI, UX
Launch
2016
Project Overview
Bacteria adapt. It’s how they survive. So how do doctors know which antibiotics are currently working against which bacteria? Hospitals antibiograms tell only part of the story. To prescribe the right antibiotics, doctors need real-time, regional insight into which drugs are working against prevalent bacteria.
Background
When a bacterial specimen is tested, labs also check which antibiotics are effective.
This data is compiled into an Antimicrobial BioGram, helping doctors choose effective medications while reserving stronger options for tougher cases. This document is printed and carried around for reference.
Drawbacks of current Biograms
Delayed: Published only every few months, making them outdated almost immediately.
Hospital-only: Produced by large hospitals, so less relevant for family practices where most patients are seen.
Opportunity
By leveraging Athenahealth’s near real-time lab data and and its reach in smaller practices, we aimed to create an innovative solution that overcame both drawbacks.
Timeline
From explorations to research to final app approval in 4 Weeks
Deliverables
Wireframes
High Resolution Mockups
Style guide
Hand selected bacterial imagery
New User Tutorial
Process Step 1
Exploring and Testing Form Factors
Doctors are always pressed for time so we knew if there was a steep learning curve for this app they would just continue to use the paper based Biograms. We decided that if possible we would use a familiar form factor to display the common bugs in their immediate area.
Photo Gallery Metaphor
Weather Metaphor
Maps Metaphor
Process Step 2
User Testing Research
We created clickable prototypes of each direction and tested each concept with a group of 24 doctors who regularly prescribing Antibiotics. Participants joined over video so that we could get a geographically diverse set of testers. The overwhelming consensus was in favor of the Weather style display. Below are some of their responses.
"I like the fact that the first concept shows the relative prevalence of the bacteria by the size of the box but it is critical to see the bacteria name without having to click and not all the boxes can fit the name…"
-Dr. Jerry R.- Memorial Slone Kettering
"Having the beautiful bacteria imagery feels very bright and welcoming. I bet over time I will start to recognize the card without having to read the name."
-Dr. Nicole B. - Duke Medical Center
"Seeing the imagery overlaid on a map is a cool but honestly I don't think it is very helpful for what I do. This might be a useful for an epidemiologist but I don't need to know which part of the city a particular bug is clustered in."
-Sarah C. NP - Denver Family Practice
Explaining the methodology is key to building trust.
One theme that we heard repeatedly was Trust. Some doctor's were hesitant to trust this product with out first understanding the methodology. To address this, we we created a New User Experience (NUX) to quickly explain how statistic significance was maintained across a diverse settings.
"My main question would be is the sample size that we are seeing statistically significant? If I practice in a big a big city with lots of samples I am not worried but if I practice in a rural area there might not be that many samples tested."
-Dr. Jerry R.- Memorial Slone Kettering
Results
Massive User Response
Our liaison at Apple loved the app and received heavy promotion in the app store. Bugs+Drugs was downloaded 100,000+ in 2 months, exceeding expectations by ten fold.