Smart Protocoling in Workflow Manager is a project I worked on as a lead designer for the UPMC Enterprises + GE Partnership. Protocoling is an essential part of a radiologist's daily work that until 2015, had not been made available in GE's radiologist-facing applications.
Protocoling is a process by which radiologists review a patient's clinical information and create specific instructions — or protocols — for how an imaging exam should be performed for that patient. It is one very essential way that radiologists can ensure the best possible care for patients, and prevent unnecessary imaging and radiation exposure.
The project followed multiple rounds of research , design, and vetting through the GE + UPMC partnership, and is currently being built into the Workflow Manager product.
Research on protocoling workflows across multiple personas
I conducted in-depth interviews and contextual inquiries with multiple stakeholders involved with radiology workflows to understand "the what" of protocoling. I learned that protocoling — the workflow that determines what type, and how, medical imaging is performed on patients entering the hospital — is a crucially important step in the care process. It the means by which radiologists determine what imaging exam is most appropriate for a patient, and can determine health outcomes and crucial diagnoses.
Conceptual design and testing
After the initial discovery phase, I developed insights and heuristics that would drive conceptual designs for including protocoling workflows in GE's new radiology software, Workflow Manager (then called "Rad Desktop"). I tested these designs with radiologists at UPMC, and stakeholders at New York Presbyterian Hospital. The designs were received well, and generated excitement for UPMC's radiologists — many of whom are used to a protocoling workflow that necessitates logging into multiple hospital applications to understand a patient's context of care, reviewing scheduled exams for that patient, and then using paper forms to protocol the imaging exam. I presented my research and conceptual designs to stakeholders across the GE + UPMC partnership to propose the inclusion of protocoling in the Workflow Manager application.
Round 2: Testing Designs for Protocoling in Workflow Manager
After many months of high-level discussions across the GE + UPMC partnership about what features would be most valuable for a truly "next generation" radiology software, protocoling was prioritized for development in the summer of 2016. Based on the insights I gleaned from my previous discovery research and concept testing, I created a workflow and new designs for protocoling in Workflow Manager, based on the application's current design:
The Good, Bad, and Ugly: Results and Recommendations
We like the workflow and hate all these icons! Radiologists responded well to many aspects of the designs for protocoling in Workflow Manager, including the ability to build worklists for exams to be protocoled, the in-app information available to them for protocoling, and the ability to search, edit, and comment on protocols in their native diagnostic application. The exception was a series of status icons that were recommended for inclusion by product management, based on the need for parity with an older GE application that allows technologists who perform imaging exams to review protocols.
Designs for Implementation
After testing, I communicated the results to the product team, and iterated accordingly on the designs. The latest version, which is in development as of summer 2016, can be seen in the wireframes below. These designs are currently being piloted by several radiology departments, and are being tested for regulatory compliance.
