Phil Patient Mobile App
Redesign of the High Out-of-Pocket Payment Approval Flow

LOWER FUNNEL・HEALTHTECH・RESPONSIVE DESIGN・B2C

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Phil operates an online prescription management and delivery platform with a mission to provide patients with seamless convenience in obtaining their prescriptions.

After analyzing our platform, we found that the high out-of-pocket cost during payment might be a significant reason for the drop in conversion rate. Therefore, we overhauled the payment flow to reduce costs and improve the overall experience.

“High Out-of-Pocket Payment” (aka “Copay”) refers to individuals covering a substantial portion of their healthcare expenses directly, without insurance coverage. At Phil, a copayment exceeding $125 is categorized as “High Out-of-Pocket” (HOOP).

Many patients found these high out-of-pocket costs were prohibitive and wanted to understand:

How the copay is calculated?
How can they reduce medication expenses while continuing the treatments?

Some facts to keep in mind:

9% of initial prescriptions result in HOOP costs.
82% of these are automatically moved to the 'Alternative Medication' queue, adding 3.3 days of waiting time and resulting in only a 27% patient conversion rate.

Lead Designer
2 months
1 Product Manager
2 Engineers
Patient Advocate Team

Patients currently lack sufficient knowledge regarding their expensive medication options, which can lead to potential obstacles in accessing necessary medications.

PROBLEM

USER’S PAINT POINTS

Based on 5 interviews and data points, we found that there are two main problems.

Users failed to find the information about how the cost is being calculated.
Users are not able to get direct help on requesting an alternative prescription from the self-checkout flow.

Patients who have high out-of-pocket payments towards their prescription and seek for options to reduce their medication cost.

TARGET USER

Increase in patient conversion rate.
Reduce the contact rate with the patient advocate team.
Enhancement of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) through improved user experience.

DEFINE SUCCESS

We believe that by providing patients with educational information about expensive medication alternatives earlier in their journey, they will be better equipped to make informed decisions and secure the essential medications they require.

HYPOTHESIS

SOLUTIONS

Streamlining the payment approval process by setting clear expectations for users.

Design:
Using the “Info” icon and a question to capture patients’ attention. The chevron icon opens a modal with educational information, enabling patients to either read through it or promptly request an alternative medication. This eliminates the need for patients to wait for further steps to execute the request and minimizes patient outreach to our patient advocate team. This also enables patients to seamlessly return to the payment flow without delays that potentially leading to higher conversion rates.
Copy:
Collaborating with the content strategist, we refined the copy to be straightforward. Through A/B testing, "Is there a cheaper option?" emerged as the preferred choice, effectively capturing patients' attention and conveying the message of exploring informed decisions.

RESULTS

↑ 6%

Patient Loyalty Rate

↑ 10%

Conversion Rate

↓ 33%

Contact Rate

“I especially appreciate the more prominent option for alternative med requests. It has made it easier for me to explore other Rx options with my health provider and has given me more control over my budget.”

Joshua Day, 45

“ The enhanced user experience on the platform is truly commendable. The clear message has made it easier for me to understand my medication better and has helped me take more informed decisions about my health..”

Elisa Bautista, 26

“Thank you for the smooth and hassle-free payment approval process for HOOP. The self-taught information was helpful in making medication decisions. It made my experience with Phil delightful!”

Manning Lee, 62

PROCESS

01/ Defining

Following discussions with our patient advocate team, we discovered that a common inquiry from patients revolves around the query, "Why is my copayment amount so elevated?"

Unfortunately, patients were unable to locate additional information within our app elucidating the process behind copayment calculations. In response to this, I aimed to enlighten our patients about copayments while simultaneously allowing them to explore more cost-effective medication options.

To achieve this, I facilitated a workshop with key stakeholders, including the PM, engineering leader, and operations team leader, to get alignments on the problems, user paint points and goals, and brainstorming on possible solutions.

Proposed Solutions:

The revised flow targets HOOP prescriptions surpassing $125, offering suitable alternative medications. This replaces the previous automated logic, which directed HOOP prescriptions to the 'Alternative Medication' queue. The goal is to elevate the conversion rate and enhance patient satisfaction.

Enhance the 'Payment Approval' experience by allowing patients:
- Approve the existing HOOP cost immediately.
- Request to work with their healthcare providers to explore alternative medications that may reduce their copay.
Add self-educational resources:
- Providing patients with self-taught resources about the substitution process and timeline.

02/ Design (2 options)

Placing an “Info icon” next to each copay offers insights into how copayments are determined and provides a convenient Call to Action (CTA) for patients to request alternative medication alternatives, all accessible through a popover.

Explanation of Copay Calculation:
Begin by explaining how the copay is calculated. The goal is to use the simple language to ensure patient understanding.
Factors Influencing Copay:
Describe the factors that can lead to a higher copay, such as the insurance plan.
Request Alternative Medication:
Include a clear Call to Action (CTA) button or link for patients to request alternative medication options. Make it easy for patients to initiate this process.

03/ Validation & Iteration

Feedback from the internal team

I put together a quick low-fi mock to go over the concept with our internal team including leadership and business stakeholders, and several key insights emerged:

Patient Education is Crucial:
While it's essential to offer patients alternative medication request options, it became evident that patients need more information and understanding before they feel comfortable taking action and the current provided information might not be sufficient.
Subdued CTA:
It was suggested that the Call to Action (CTA) should be less conspicuous to encourage patients to invest time in learning more before making a decision.
Enhanced Visibility for Info Icon:
There was concern that the info icon, which provides essential information, may be easily overlooked or bypassed by patients.

04/ Validation

Conducted 5 usability testings to collect users’ feedback and ran A/B testing on the copy.

After a few rounds of design iterations, we decided to run a quick usability test to get our end users’ feedback on the 2 design approaches. I conducted 5 sessions with patients who had previously encountered high copay situations and alternatively went through both designs.

The testing helped us gain valuable insights that prompted us to reevaluate our design approach.

“ I'm not sure where clicking on 'Need more assistance' will lead me, does it take me to another page?”

Joshua day, 45

“ I need to know there is such an option (Alternative Medication) earlier...”