H-E-B Pharmacy
Enhancing Medication Management for Users
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Overview
The HEB Pharmacy app was designed to support users in managing their medications effectively and safely. With the high stakes of medication adherence, especially for critical health conditions, the app aims to help users easily track, remember, and organize their medication routines through automated reminders and relevant health information.
My involvement in this project focused on validating the app’s functionality and usability to ensure it provided practical, intuitive, and valuable support for users managing their health needs.
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My role
As Product Designer, I was responsible for advocating for user research, conducting surveys and usability testing, and collaborating with another designer, three developers, a Product Owner, and two QA specialists to validate and refine the app experience.
My contributions centered on understanding user behaviors and needs, aligning the design with those insights, and ensuring a user-centric approach was consistently applied. I also worked to bridge gaps within the team by providing data-backed recommendations, especially around essential features like calendar integration and medication alerts.
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Challenges
The primary challenge on this project was differentiating the HEB Pharmacy app from generic calendar reminders while ensuring that it provided additional value through personalized medication tracking.
Additionally, there was limited prior research, so I advocated for a structured survey to gather foundational insights on user preferences and behaviors.
Working with a design that was largely complete, my focus remained on testing and iterating based on research findings to ensure the app would resonate with its intended audience.
Survey Findings
To gather relevant insights, I collaborated with a researcher to develop a survey through Survata, which consisted of 19 questions and reached 200 participants. This survey helped us understand user behaviors, preferences, and the critical features needed in a medication management app. Additionally, I conducted four user interviews with individuals who take daily medications to add qualitative depth to our findings. Key insights included:
Medication Alerts
Most users relied on their device’s calendar app for medication reminders, suggesting a preference for a calendar view.
Users managing severe health conditions emphasized the need for reliable, customizable alerts with appropriate cautionary messages.
Weekly organization, such as using pill boxes, contributed to consistent adherence, with a preference for weekly reminders to refill organizers.
Older users often relied on memory, while younger users preferred frequent reminders, indicating a need for customizable alert frequency.
Many users requested specific instructions within alerts, such as “Take with food” or “Avoid alcohol,” to ensure compliance with medication guidelines.
Iterations
Improved Accuracy
In the CVS app, users were required to identify their pills by selecting a color name from a dropdown menu. This approach forced users to choose from ambiguous color names like “rust” and “red-brown,” which many perceived as similar shades. However, selecting “rust” would exclude “red-brown” medications from the results—and vice versa—often leading to incorrect or incomplete matches.
This reliance on color names introduced an unnecessary barrier, especially for users unfamiliar with specific color terminology, creating confusion and increasing the risk of errors.
To address this issue, we moved away from text-based color and shape selection. Instead, we displayed visual representations of colors and shapes directly within the interface, eliminating the need for users to interpret color names. This design choice not only minimized confusion but also supported accessibility by reducing reliance on text interpretation. By showing pill colors and shapes visually, we created a more intuitive and inclusive experience that significantly enhanced the accuracy of pill identification.
ADA Compliance Consideration
The ADA encourages accessible design, which includes avoiding reliance on color-based choices for users who may have color vision deficiencies or other visual impairments. Although users still look at the pill’s color and shape when identifying it, removing text-based color selection makes it easier for users of all abilities to make accurate identifications, supporting accessibility best practices.
Reduced Cognitive Load
Choosing colors and shapes by name adds an extra step for users to interpret and match terms with visuals, which can be mentally taxing. Displaying these attributes visually within the app minimizes the cognitive load, making the experience simpler and more intuitive for all users, regardless of familiarity with color and shape terminology.
Outcomes and Reflections
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Usability Testing Overview
Usability testing revealed high demand for features like calendar integration and custom alerts.
Participants frequently emphasized the importance of clear, accurate, and actionable reminders, particularly those managing complex health regimens.
Testing also highlighted that users appreciated the ability to add personalized notes to reminders (e.g., “Take with food”), which aligned with their current medication habits.
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Impact
While the HEB Pharmacy app provided foundational medication management support, deeper integration of a familiar calendar view would likely have increased overall user satisfaction and engagement.
Integrating personalized alerts for key health instructions also added significant value by helping users maintain consistent adherence to their medication routines.
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Reflections and Learnings
This project underscored the importance of thorough user research, especially in healthcare-related apps where user needs and behaviors can directly impact their health.
Additionally, this experience reinforced my belief in advocating for data-backed design decisions to ensure that a product resonates with its users and addresses real-life challenges effectively.