Cathy Wang's Portfolio

Stitch Health

Supporting clinical trial participants through recruitment to reduce no shows by 27%

Clinical trials rely on participants, but appointment show rates are only 50% on average. We designed a solution that reduced appointment no shows by 27% and admin time by 83%.

Skills:

UI Design

UX Design

Product Management

User Research

Team:
Product designer (me)
UI designer: Visun Le Duong
Product manager: Dave Marshall
Engineers: Martha Bowler, Rich Comber

A mockup showing the hero screen and key information component

Stitch Health

Supporting clinical trial participants through recruitment to reduce no shows by 27%

Clinical trials rely on participants, but appointment show rates are only 50% on average. We designed a solution that reduced appointment no shows by 27% and admin time by 83%.

Skills:

UI Design

UX Design

Product Management

User Research

Team:
1 Product designer (me)
1 UI designer: Visun Le Duong
1 Product manager: Dave Marshall

Stitch Health

Supporting clinical trial participants through recruitment to reduce no shows by 27%

Clinical trials rely on participants, but appointment show rates are only 50% on average. We designed a solution that reduced appointment no shows by 27% and admin time by 83%.

Skills:

UI Design

UX Design

Product Management

User Research

Team:
Product designer (me)
UI designer: Visun Le Duong
Product manager: Dave Marshall
Engineers: Martha Bowler, Rich Comber

Introduction

Stitch is a startup with the mission to improve clinical trials by increasing patient retention, engagement and compliance.

Last year, Stitch began expanding into a new customer segment: site networks. Site networks are a group of research sites that conduct clinical trials.

Introduction

Stitch is a startup with the mission to improve clinical trials by increasing patient retention, engagement and compliance.

Last year, Stitch began expanding into a new customer segment: site networks. Site networks are a group of research sites that conduct clinical trials.

Introduction

Stitch is a startup with the mission to improve clinical trials by increasing patient retention, engagement and compliance.

Last year, Stitch began expanding into a new customer segment: site networks. Site networks are a group of research sites that conduct clinical trials.

Problem: 50% appointment no show rates

To run successful clinical trials, site networks need participants to take part in their studies. We spoke to 10+ site networks and their biggest pain point was participant no shows in the recruitment process. Among the site networks we spoke to, the pre-screening no show rate is around 50%.

This is a big problem as sites need participants in order to run successful trials. No shows cause trials to be more costly, and can lead to trial cancellations.

This is a big problem as sites need participants in order to run successful trials. It’s also costly as some sites are only paid for successful visits. If a participant doesn’t show up, they are not paid.

Among the site networks we spoke to, the pre-screening no show rate is around 50%. One site network mentioned they schedule 1500 participants for pre-screening, with 50% showing up. Of those 50% they convert 30% into screening appointments.

This is a big problem as sites need participants in order to run successful trials. It’s also a costly problem as some sites are only paid for successful visits. If a participant doesn’t show up, they are not paid for conducting that visit.

A graphic of the recruitment process for a clinical trial participant

Recruitment process for a clinical trial participant

Our previous research with trial participants gave us insight into why no show rates are so high:

Lack of information

Some participants lacked basic information, such as the trial start date and requirements, along with clear guidance on their application status.

No digitisation

Some participants had to print out forms and fill them in manually to be able to join a trial.

Safety and trust concerns

Joining a trial is a scary thing to do. Participants feared being treated like a “guinea pig” and noted a lack of information to ease their concerns.

Our previous research with trial participants gave us insight into why no show rates are so high:

Confusion about the recruitment process

Some participants lacked basic information, such as the trial start date and requirements, along with clear guidance on their application status.

Concerns around safety and trust

Joining a trial is a scary thing to do. Participants feared being treated like a “guinea pig” and noted a lack of information to ease their concerns.

Lack of digitisation

Some participants had to print out forms and fill them in manually to be able to join a trial.

Quote from trial participant

“After applying, there was 2-3 week period where I just didn’t hear anything. I assumed I didn’t get through. So it would have been nice to have some indication that it was in progress.”

Quote from trial participant

“The process was extremely painful. I got contacted by someone and they sent me 5 different forms, all having to do them manually. Some of it I had to print off and send off. None of it was digitised. So it was a bit of a nightmare to have to do.”

Goal: Build a landing page to inform patients and decrease no show rates

To solve these challenges, we would build a flexible and dynamic landing page designed to help site networks inform, recruit and convert potential trial participants to decrease appointment no show rates.

We would then use existing Stitch features such as email and SMS reminders to retain participants during the recruitment process.

The landing page must:

Inform participants of key trial information
Convert eligible participants
Retain participants through the recruitment journey

Constraints:

The solution must work visually across different brand colours
All content must be configurable

Goal: Build a landing page to inform patients and decrease no show rates

We would then use existing Stitch features such as email and SMS reminders to retain participants during the recruitment process.

The landing page must:

Inform participants of key trial information
Convert eligible participants
Retain participants through the recruitment journey

Constraints:

The solution must work visually across different brand colours
All content must be configurable

Goal: Build a landing page to inform patients and decrease no show rates

We would then use existing Stitch features such as email and SMS reminders to retain participants during the recruitment process.

The landing page must:

Inform participants of key trial information
Convert eligible participants
Retain participants through the recruitment journey

Constraints:

The solution must work visually across different brand colours
All content must be configurable

Kicking off with product management

For this project, I took on responsibilities in product management, UX design, and UI design.

As a product manager I:

Conducted a competitive analysis of 12 site network landing pages to identify common design patterns, content blocks and opportunities to enhance the design and functionality of our landing page.
Communicated and collaborated with c-suite and engineering to get their perspective on what content blocks were needed, and also planned how this would fit in to our existing product.
Worked with our Senior Product Manager to scope the project.

A spreadsheet of competitive analysis that was conducted for the project

Competitive analysis of site network landing pages

Wireframing

After scoping the project I designed wireframes for the landing page, focusing on highlighting key details, reassuring participants and conversion.

Highlighting key details

I designed components to showcase key study details, inclusion and exclusion criteria, enabling participants to quickly determine if the study aligns with their needs and eligibility

Reassuring participants

I designed a component to feature participant testimonials, addressing safety and trust concerns by showcasing patient experiences
I also wanted to make the study team feel more approachable, so sites can choose to share photos and contact details of their research team with participants

Conversion

CTAs are spread throughout the landing page to make it easier for participants to apply for the study

Creating hi-fidelity and branded UI

Once wireframes were agreed, I worked with our freelance UI designer to transform the wireframes into hi-fidelity responsive designs. We both worked on the hi-fidelity designs together, with Visun focusing on web designs while I focused on mobile designs.

Desktop design

High fidelity mobile designs of the landing page

Mobile designs

To ensure the landing page could adapt to the brands of different site networks, we worked to identify which UI elements should be customised.

We agreed that font and icon colours, buttons, input fields, gradients, and backgrounds should be configurable to match each brand's colour palette.

However, to maintain readability and consistency across landing pages, we decided on sticking with Stitch’s brand fonts, using Rubik for headers and Noto Sans for body text.

Colour palette

Branded landing pages

Creating hi-fidelity and branded UI

Impact

A site network called West Clinical Research implemented our solution. We conducted an A/B test to see the impact of our solution and saw these incredible results:

27% reduction in no shows
18% increase in enrolments
83% reduction in admin time for sites

WCR also ended up in the top 10 enrolling sites globally out of 350+ sites for this study.

West Clinical Research (WCR), a site network using Stitch during their recruitment phase, saw these incredible results:

27% reduction in no shows
97% participant usage
18% increase in enrolments

We were also able to support research teams by reducing the admin time needed to recruit a patient by 83%.

Quote from Luke Snedaker (CEO of WCR)

“Stitch gives our participants a user interface that pulls clinical research into this decade; with beautiful design, useful information about their visit, and the ability to give feedback in a seamless platform.

The best part is that workload has been REDUCED on our coordinators and administrative team by adding this system to our tech stack.”

Learnings

What surprised me most during this project was discovering the limited support trial participants receive compared to more consumer-focused industries.

My hope is that by improving the patient experience through this project, the standards across the industry will improve, leading to better outcomes for both patients and studies.

Learnings

What surprised me most during this project was discovering the limited support trial participants receive compared to more consumer-focused industries.

My hope is that by improving the patient experience through this project, the standards across the industry will improve, leading to better outcomes for both patients and studies.

Learnings

What surprised me most during this project was discovering the limited support trial participants receive compared to more consumer-focused industries.

My hope is that by improving the patient experience through this project, the standards across the industry will improve, leading to better outcomes for both patients and studies.

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