01 / MDLIVE / ASYNCHRONOUS CARE
Extending care beyond the visit
Designing a scalable messaging experience that connects patients with their care teams between appointments.
HERO VISUAL / ADD IMAGE
Messaging UI across mobile + desktop
ROLE
Research and design lead
PLATFORMS
<Confirm platforms>
TEAM
<Add collaborators>
TIMELINE
<Add timeline>
THE OUTCOME / CARE THAT CONTINUES
A new route to care. A foundation for what came next.
A cross-platform messaging service that lets patients request care between appointments—and gives care teams a clear path to resolve the request or turn it into a visit.
<#>
requests submitted in first <timeframe>
<#%>
resolved by message, no appointment needed
<#%>
converted into follow-up appointments
MEASUREMENT PENDING / Replace the figures above with verified launch data.
THE TL;DR
The opportunity: extend care beyond the visit
After building a robust suite of virtual care services, MDLIVE identified an opportunity to support patients outside scheduled appointments. I led the research and design of a new messaging service for specific types of care inquiries, known internally as Non-Visit Encounters. The service gave patients a way to submit a request to a nurse or provider, with two possible paths: resolve the encounter through messaging or convert it into a new appointment.
Research and design leadership for a new core product feature. The product goal: make messaging a clear, purposeful route to care — not simply add a chat channel. Add the project timeframe, collaborators, and launch scope here.
01 / THE PROBLEM
01 / A care pathway, not just a conversation
The design challenge was to connect a patient’s inquiry to an appropriate next step. Messaging needed a defined purpose: support eligible requests outside an appointment while preserving a clear route into a visit when the inquiry required one.
On MDLIVE, that option didn’t exist. Patients were left on their own after care. Customer Support fielded questions agents couldn’t clinically answer, and there was no way to keep patients engaged between visits or offer clients a new add-on.
There was a “messaging” feature, but it only delivered system alerts. It was a one-way mailbox, not a conversation.
ADD LEGACY INBOX / Messaging, as it existed: read-only.
How might we make getting care feel simpler without making the next step ambiguous?
WORKING PARAPHRASE / Replace with a verified research quote.
The goals
Patients: get answers between appointments without calling support. Operations: reduce avoidable calls and give providers the context they need up front. Business: drive follow-up appointments and create a sellable client add-on.
02 / UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
02 / Define where messaging earns its place
I led research and design to shape this new service. This section will connect the evidence to product decisions: which inquiry types messaging could support, what context the care team needed, and how patients would understand the service’s boundaries.
ADD EVIDENCE / Research methods, participant groups, key findings, and the decisions those findings changed.
ADD RESEARCH VISUAL / Call-driver mapping, annotated with the categories that became messaging flows.
What we learned: <Add 1–2 sentences on the insight that changed the design.>
03 / THREE DESIGN DECISIONS · 01
01 — Submit a care inquiry
The patient sends a request for an eligible inquiry type to a nurse or provider.
<Add the design decision, alternatives considered, and evidence that shaped this step.>
ADD ANNOTATED VISUAL / 01 — Submit a care inquiry
WHY IT MATTERED
<Add the patient or business benefit and a verified result.>
DESIGN DECISION · 02
02 — Receive care through messaging
The inquiry is addressed through the messaging service, with the goal of resolving the encounter outside an appointment.
<Add the design decision, alternatives considered, and evidence that shaped this step.>
ADD ANNOTATED VISUAL / 02 — Receive care through messaging
WHY IT MATTERED
<Add the patient or business benefit and a verified result.>
DESIGN DECISION · 03
03 — Resolve, or move into a visit
An encounter is either resolved through messaging or the inquiry is converted into a new appointment.
<Add the design decision, alternatives considered, and evidence that shaped this step.>
ADD ANNOTATED VISUAL / 03 — Resolve, or move into a visit
WHY IT MATTERED
<Add the patient or business benefit and a verified result.>
04 / SHIPPING IT
One service. Every platform.
Over <# months>, I designed the full experience across responsive web and the native iOS and Android apps, with one consistent set of patterns underneath.
I built the UI to be extensible from day one: new request types plug into the same intake, messaging, and appointment-conversion patterns without a redesign.
Add real product screens: request entry, the messaging experience, and the handoff to an appointment. Annotate the key decisions and trade-offs. Use de-identified examples only.
VIDEO / ADD RECORDING
From first question to next step.
End-to-end messaging flow. Replace this placeholder with a de-identified walkthrough.
05 / IMPACT
04 / Measure the care outcome, not the message count
METRICS TO VERIFY / Add a measurement window and source to each result.
<#>
requests submitted since launch
<#%>
resolved via message without an appointment
<#%>
converted to follow-up appointments
The service created a pathway for care beyond a scheduled visit. Quantitative outcomes are still to be added; the measures below are suggested lenses, not claims about performance. METRICS TO ADD / Encounter resolution rate · Time to resolution · Conversion to appointment · Patient satisfaction · Care-team effort. Include the measurement window, sample size, and relevant baseline.
WHAT CAME NEXT
What I’d carry forward
<Add what came next for the product and the evidence that shaped it.>
06 / WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
A closer look back.
Add your reflection on a difficult trade-off, what you learned after launch, and what you would improve next. Ground the takeaway in a specific product decision or observed result.
Made with care. And a little mischief.