Patient Portal 2023 - Present
A self-service digital platform that empowers patients to manage appointments, treatment decisions, and payments before and after the visit.
Overview
Patient Portal is a responsive web platform that enables patients to manage appointments, complete pre-visit forms, review treatment plans, and handle payments—both before and after office visits.
By extending the care experience beyond the clinic, the platform reduces operational friction for offices while improving patient engagement, trust, and follow-through on treatment decisions.
My Role
Lead UX & UI Designer, UX Researcher
Scope
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Patient-facing web platform (Desktop + Mobile)
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Covers the full patient journey: pre-visit, post-consult, and ongoing care management
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Integrated with appointment scheduling, treatment plans, and payments
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Currently designed and launched exclusively for Aspen Dental
Timeline
2023 - Persent
Impact
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Expected to unlock ~$10M in value over 24 months through reduced service calls, fewer missed appointments, and operational efficiencies
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Improves patient self-service adoption and reduces front-desk and call center workload
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Supports higher treatment acceptance by allowing patients to review care and financial information outside the consult room
Background & Business Context
About Aspen Dental
Aspen Dental is one of the largest dental care networks in the U.S., supporting care delivery across 1,000+ offices nationwide. Its scale requires digital tools that can support consistent patient experiences while reducing operational overhead for offices and call centers.
As patient expectations shift toward self-service and digital convenience, Aspen identified the need for a centralized platform that allows patients to stay engaged before, between, and after visits—without relying on phone calls or paper.
Why Patient Portal Matter ?
Patient care extends beyond a single office visit. Before arriving, patients need to prepare. After leaving, they often need time, clarity, and flexibility to review information, complete tasks, and make decisions.
Without a centralized digital experience:
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Patients rely on calls, paper, or memory
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Offices handle repetitive administrative work
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Important follow-ups are delayed or dropped
Patient Portal was designed to close these gaps by enabling self-service while maintaining trust, clarity, and compliance.
Key Problems
Research & Insights
Given the maturity of the problem space and existing patient workflows, research focused on validating real-world behaviors and operational pain points, rather than open-ended exploratory discovery.
Research Methods
To inform design decisions, I conducted and synthesized insights from multiple research streams:
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Unmoderated usability testing (UserTesting.com)
Validated task completion, clarity of information, and cross-device usability. -
User interviews
Collected qualitative feedback on patient expectations before and after office visits. -
Surveys
Identified common friction points related to appointments, forms, treatment review, and payments. -
Behavioral and funnel analysis
Reviewed drop-off patterns across pre-visit and post-visit touchpoints. -
A/B and iterative design testing (where applicable)
Compared layout, content hierarchy, and call-to-action clarity.
Key Insights
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Patients interact with their care across multiple moments—before visits, after visits, and between appointments—but existing tools were optimized mainly for in-office use.
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Patients want the ability to revisit treatment information at their own pace, sometimes multiple times or with family members, without needing to call the office.
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Lack of a centralized digital experience increased confusion, follow-up calls, and missed actions.
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Offices benefit most when routine tasks are self-served digitally, without compromising clarity, trust, or compliance.
Design
Design Focus
I focused remember to design the Patient Portal as a system, not a feature—supporting patients across the full journey:
Before visit
Manage appointments,pre-visit forms, and insurance verification
After visit
Treatment review, accept or decline treatment, and payment summary
Ongoing
Education material, medical and visit records, andpatient journey
Principles
To inform design decisions, I conducted and synthesized insights from multiple research streams:
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Continuity Across Touchpoints
Support patient needs before visits, after visits, and between appointments. -
Clarity Over Completeness
Present essential information first; avoid overwhelming patients. -
Self-Service by Default
Enable patients to complete common tasks independently, reducing office workload. -
Responsive by Design
Ensure equal usability across desktop and mobile device
Key Features
1. Unified Patient Dashboard
A single entry point that gives patients a clear snapshot of their care—upcoming appointments, outstanding forms, treatment plans, and payments—reducing confusion and missed actions.
2. Appointment Management
Patients can view, confirm, reschedule, or cancel appointments directly in the portal, eliminating the need for phone calls and reducing no-shows.
3. Payments & Statements
Direct access to payment and statement management through an integrated payment experience, enabling patients to pay securely and on their own time.
4. Pre-Visit Forms & Information
Patients complete intake forms, insurance details, and personal information before their visit, reducing front-desk workload and shortening check-in time.
5. Treatment Plan Review & Acceptance
(Post-Visit)
After the visit, patients can revisit treatment details, review them multiple times, and discuss options with family members—then accept treatment digitally when ready.
6. Patient Education & Records Access
Centralized access to educational content, health history, images, and scans helps patients better understand their care and builds long-term trust.
Mobile-First Experience
Impact & Outcomes
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Enabled patient self-service across the full care journey
Patients can manage appointments, complete forms, review treatment plans, and take action before and after visits—reducing reliance on calls and in-office follow-ups. -
Reduced administrative burden for offices and call centers
Shifting routine tasks (scheduling, forms, payments, treatment review) to digital self-service freed staff time for higher-value patient care. -
Improved post-visit continuity and decision confidence
Patients gained the ability to revisit treatment details at home, review information multiple times, and discuss options with family members before accepting care. -
Established a scalable digital foundation for Aspen Dental
The portal created a single, extensible platform to support future services, education, and engagement initiatives without increasing operational complexity.
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