Introduction

As a UX designer driven to improve healthcare accessibility, I explored the CompliMed project—an app for low to no-income earners who often face barriers in receiving quality care. The challenge? Provide low-cost medical solutions through a mobile-friendly platform, emphasizing easy navigation, seamless user verification, and consistent user confidence.

During initial discovery, the recurring pain point was clear: financial constraints + lack of continuity in care made it tough for individuals to maintain consistent healthcare routines. I framed my guiding question as:

How might we design a mobile app to deliver affordable medical solutions with straightforward onboarding, effective verification, and minimal confusion for low-income users?

Research & Initial Assumptions

Low-income individuals face barriers in accessing healthcare due to financial constraints, leading to poor health outcomes and lack of continuity of care. The project had aimed to develop a mobile app and provide low-cost options for these individuals.

Early Discovery

• Accessibility & Simplicity: Ensure the app is easy to access from any device and accomplish key tasks with minimal steps.
  
  

• User Verification: Develop a safe environment that respects privacy and aligns with the constraints of low-income users.

The Project’s Core Goal

1. Objective Setting:
   Focused on building trust and reducing friction for users facing financial hardship.
   
   

2. Stakeholder Interviews
   Clarified expectations (e.g., security, privacy) and aligned design goals with stakeholder needs.
   
   

3. Competitive Analysis
   Investigated similar healthcare apps for best practices—most lacked the level of user verification needed for continuity of care.

User Personas

From the interviews, we developed personas representing low-income individuals who have limited digital literacy, need quick access to medical info, and worry about providing sensitive personal data.

User Persona

User Journey

Paint Points

• Confirmation
  Users want clear, concise confirmations—particularly around verifying identity and eligibility.
  
  

• Deception
  Concern about data misuse or confusion around medical coverage.
  
  

• Qualification
  Struggle to prove eligibility for low-cost services, often leading to incomplete or abandoned sign-ups.

Ideation

Armed with the research, we brainstormed key solutions:

• Clear Onboarding & Verification
  Break account creation into multiple smaller steps to avoid overwhelming users and reassure them at each stage.
  
  

• Minimal, Trustworthy Forms
  Reduce form fields and show friendly copy to build user confidence.
  
  

• Straightforward Navigation
  Use consistent iconography, labeled menus, and a location-based feature (e.g., “Near Me”) for easy local resource discovery.

Sitemap (Information Architecture)

User Testing

Account Creation

Problem: Initial design was cluttered, with too many fields in a single screen.

Solution: Split the process into 4 steps with fewer fields, resulting in a minimal layout. Early tests showed users felt less overwhelmed and found it easier to complete registration.

User onboarding iterations

Forms & Verification

Problem: A complicated form design with poor copy and visuals led to confusion about what info was actually needed.

Solution: We simplified forms, clarifying instructions, removing unnecessary fields, and adopting a more visual approach. Testing showed less hesitation and more trust in providing data.

User Verification & Elidgibility iterations

Logging In

Problem: The login screen was cluttered, offering limited login options and leading to user confusion.

Solution: We introduced an OTP-based phone login alongside email login. We also optimized headings and increased white space to reduce visual clutter—resulting in faster login times and fewer user errors.

Login Screen

Menu Tab (Near Me)

Problem: Users struggled to interpret icons, particularly the map feature, making local resource discovery difficult.

Solution: We improved iconography (especially the map icon) and implemented a dedicated map view, ensuring near-instant recognition of local medical options.

Map Function in-app

We also prioritized accessibility, making iterations to font sizes and color contrast ratios to meet WCAG requirements. We introduced consistent and inclusive iconography, particularly in the navigation bar, to enhance the user experience.

We restructured the sitemap to improve user navigation, ensuring our decisions were informed by competitive analysis, user research, and stakeholder demands.

Design Phase

Visual Design
Developed the color scheme, visual design, and elements for the app. This helped us create a consistent and engaging user interface.

High-Fidelity Prototypes
Created high-fidelity prototypes that closely represented the final product. These prototypes were used for usability testing and stakeholder reviews.

Testing Phase

• Usability Testing
  Conducted multiple test rounds using high-fidelity prototypes with real users. We focused on the onboarding flow, verification steps, and general navigation.
  
  

• Feedback Incorporation
  Adjusted design elements (e.g., button placements, copy adjustments) based on user feedback.
  
  

• Launch and Iteration
  The app launched with continuous iteration based on usage analytics and user comments, ensuring we evolve the product in response to real-world needs.

User Onboarding

We introduced an onboarding experience for users that is divided into four simple steps as they open the app or create an account for the first time.

Account Creation

Initially, users found the form’s single-page approach overwhelming. After reorganizing into four steps (with fewer visible fields at once), testers reported a smoother, less stressful experience. We validated this through mid-fidelity prototype tests that showed a significant drop in abandonment rates.

User Login

We learned that users were uneasy providing full SSN for identity verification. We adapted to only request relevant financial documents (e.g., 2 months’ bank statements), removing previously mandatory personal info. This shift reduced user reluctance and dropped login friction.

User Verification

These modifications aligned perfectly with the findings from user interviews. By eliminating SSN requirements and providing a clear, step-by-step form, we boosted user trust and sign-up completion rates.

Key Learnings and Takeaways

• Team Collaboration
  Working closely with cross-functional stakeholders was crucial in delivering a focused, user-centric solution under tight deadlines.
  
  

• Importance of Research
  Our thorough user research and iterative testing directly shaped the flows and form fields, ensuring the product matched real user needs.
  
  

• Value of Communication
  Transparent dialogue between design and development kept features on track, overcame constraints, and met deadlines.

Conclusion

Despite tight timelines, we successfully created a minimum viable product that addresses critical healthcare gaps for low-income earners. The CompliMed app, now boasting simplified verification, guided onboarding, and accessible navigation, stands to significantly enhance continuity of care.

This project reaffirms that user-centered design—backed by comprehensive research and transparent collaboration—can produce meaningful, life-changing solutions, especially in complex domains like healthcare accessibility.