MedQuest
PRODUCT DESIGN
FULL CASE STUDY
MedQuest enables patients to share their medical history before appointments, making doctor visits faster and more efficient.
TIMELINE: 8 Weeks (May-April 2023, December 2025)
ROLE: Full- Stack Designer
PROJECT TYPE: UI/UX, Product Design, Prototyping
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Long wait times in Canada’s healthcare system place significant strain on patients and providers alike. As wait times increase, patient satisfaction declines and the risk of delayed diagnoses and serious health consequences rises...
Canada's healthcare is delivered through Medicare,
a publicly funded system that is frequently overstretched because of a lack of pricing and limitations on healthcare availability.
Therefore, patients with non-life-threatening conditions face lengthy waits for medical care, leading to patient dissatisfaction and potential deterioration in their health status.
THE CHALLENGE
How might we streamline the appointment
process for patients and healthcare professionals
to reduce patient wait times and improve overall
care efficiency?
THE RESEARCH
Project Overview
As part of a class assignment, we were asked to select a domain and design an app that addresses a major problem within that space.
💭 THE GOAL
The purpose of the project was to apply a user- centered design process to identify a real-world issue and propose a thoughtful, design-led solution.
I chose the healthcare (medical) track, with a focus on improving the patient–doctor appointment experience. This led me to focus my research on understanding the issues in the healthcare sector.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
I conducted secondary research by reviewing:
Academic research papers on Canadian healthcare services
Articles and reports discussing patient experience and system inefficiencies
Through this research, I analyzed recurring themes, challenges, and system-level pain points affecting both patients and healthcare providers.
01 LONG WAIT TIMES ARE
A CORE SYSTEMIC ISSUE
Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system (Medicare) consistently struggles with prolonged waiting times, especially for non-urgent procedures and specialist treatments. These delays are a major barrier to access and contribute to frustration
among patients.
02 WAIT TIMES ARE INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY
A recent analysis shows that the
total wait time from being referred
by a general practitioner to receiving specialist treatment increased dramatically over decades (e.g.,
from ~9.3 weeks in 1993 to ~27.4 weeks in 2023).
03 HEALTH OUTCOMES ARE AFFECTED BY DELAYS
Extended wait times are associated with:
Adverse physical & mental health outcomes
Increased socioeconomic burden on patients and families
These effects have been documented across chronic and serious health conditions.
SYSTEMIC FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO WAIT TIMES
🩹 FRAGMENTED GOVERNANCE
Shared federal- provincial responsibility leads to uneven service delivery and policy inconsistency,
which exacerbates
the inefficiencies.
📉 WORKFORCE SHORTAGES
Shortages of physicians, nurses, and specialists create bottlenecks
in access and limit appointment availability.
👨🦳 AGING
POPULATION
A growing proportion
of older adults increases demand for complex and specialized care, further pressuring the system.
🛠️ POORLY INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Fragmented health technology & communication across facilities (e.g., reliance on faxing referrals) leads to administrative delays and reduced capacity for efficient patient flow.
THEREFORE, THE SOLUTION
MedQuest.
MedQuest is a healthcare app that supports
both patients and healthcare professionals in
preparing for appointments through simple, user-centered questionnaires.
Designed to be clear, intuitive and user- friendly, MedQuest allows users to complete questionnaires at their own pace, before this visit.
HOW IT HELPS PATIENTS
SHARE ACCURATE INFORMATION WITHOUT TIME PRESSURE
FEEL MORE PREPARED & CONFIDENT BEFORE APPOINTMENTS
EXPERIENCE SMOOTHER, LESS STRESSFUL CONSULTATIONS
HOW IT HELPS DOCTORS
ACCESS KEY PATIENT DETAILS IN ADVANCE
REDUCE REPETITIVE HISTORY-TAKING & QUESTIONS
FOCUS ON MEANINGFUL FOLLOW- UP QUESTIONS
FEATURES
01 USER-CENTERED QUESTIONNAIRES
Questions are designed using simple language
and progressive disclosure, reducing cognitive load
and making it easier for patients to complete
forms accurately.
02 ACCESSIBILITY-FIRST DESIGN
High contrast, readable typography, and touch-friendly components ensure the app is usable across age groups and abilities.
03 DOCTOR READY
INFORMATION LAYOUT
Patient responses are organized into scannable, structured summaries, helping healthcare professionals review information quickly.
HIGH- FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
After multiple rounds of iteration and design changes, the final app design took shape.Despite the fact that the prototype is not completely functional, it does successfully highlight the app’s ease of use and the essential steps users will take, thus showing how it will address the specific issues.
LEARNINGS AND OUTCOMES
📲 SYSTEM PROBLEMS CAN BE ADDRESSED AT THE
INTERACTION LEVEL
Many view extended wait times as a significant, systemic problem, however, this project revealed that small improvements at the interaction level, like obtaining structured information prior to appointments.
🤔 ONE PRODUCT, MULTIPLE USERS
Developing MedQuest involved considering the requirements of patients and doctors, which taught me how to design for two different user groups while converting patient feedback into useful information for doctors.
💭 RESEARCH- DRIVEN DESIGN BUILDS STRONGER SOLUTIONS
Secondary research supported my project, verifying my assumptions and making my design choices more reliable, creating a stronger solution.
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