Neil Christensen :: Portfolio : R1RCM Case Study

UX Manager, UX Researcher, UX Design

Overview

In this case study, I detail how I led my team in delivering a proof of concept for a hospital quality rating dashboard under a tight three-week deadline. This project required rapid research, design iteration, and validation with hospital administrators to ensure the product would provide actionable insights into how their quality ratings were calculated. Our focus was on creating a tool that would empower hospitals to improve their ratings and secure increased federal funding. The resulting dashboard successfully addressed user pain points, providing a streamlined, data-driven solution validated by our users.

Team

As the UX Manager and Design Sprint Facilitator, I was responsible for leading cross-functional collaboration between our product owner, designers, researchers, and technical experts. I managed team communication, facilitated workshops, and ensured that all voices were heard during the design process. Working closely with our stakeholders—hospital administrators and subject matter experts—I aligned our team’s efforts with their needs while maintaining momentum despite the tight deadline.

Background

We were tasked with creating a product to help hospitals improve their quality ratings, which are critical to securing federal funding. Hospitals often struggle to understand how these ratings are calculated, and without clear insight, they are unable to take effective action to improve their scores. This lack of transparency had significant financial implications, making it a pressing problem for stakeholders.

Due to a strict three-week timeline before meeting with users, we couldn’t afford to follow traditional, longer design cycles. Instead, we relied on rapid research, a design sprint, and continuous iteration to ensure we could deliver actionable results in time.

Problem

Hospitals receive federal funding based on their quality ratings, but the calculation of these ratings is unclear and complex. This leaves hospital administrators frustrated, as they are unsure how to improve their scores, which directly affects their revenue streams. Without actionable insights, hospitals risk losing critical funding.

How might we provide hospitals with clear, actionable insights into how their quality rating is calculated so they can effectively improve their scores and secure more federal funding?

Process

We began by conducting stakeholder interviews with hospital administrators, subject matter experts, and executives. These interviews revealed that administrators were often overwhelmed by the complexity of the quality rating system and lacked a clear understanding of which metrics mattered most. Insights from these interviews helped us identify key user needs, such as transparency and ease of use.

We utilized card sorting to prioritize features based on user personas, focusing on features that would provide administrators with actionable data. The design studio methodology, where stakeholders sketched out their ideas, helped us align on a vision for the dashboard.

Through rapid iteration, we created wireframes and prototypes, testing each version with hospital administrators. User feedback led us to simplify certain elements, such as reducing cognitive load by emphasizing key metrics and de-emphasizing less important data. Images Explanation: The images shown depict different iterations of the dashboard, illustrating the evolution of the design as we incorporated feedback from users and stakeholders. The early sketches from our design studio informed the wireframes, which were refined through several rounds of user validation.

Solution

The final product was a dashboard that provided hospitals with clear insights into their quality ratings. The dashboard included the following key features:

A visual breakdown of key metrics affecting the quality rating.
Predictive analytics showing how specific actions could improve future ratings.
Role-specific views for different hospital users, such as administrators and department heads.

 These features were chosen based on feedback from stakeholders who needed actionable, transparent data. Our design was validated through multiple rounds of testing with hospital administrators, who confirmed that the dashboard simplified their understanding of quality ratings and helped them identify areas for improvement.View Prototype

Main Dashboard Page

Secondary Page

Results

User Satisfaction: 90% of test users reported they would use the dashboard in their day-to-day operations.
Efficiency Gains: Hospital administrators estimated the tool would save them several hours per week in analyzing their quality ratings manually.
Business Impact: Early feedback indicated that hospitals were better able to improve their ratings, leading to increased federal funding.

Conclusion

This project demonstrated my ability to lead a cross-functional team under tight deadlines, prioritize user needs, and deliver a validated product that addressed a critical business problem. Our dashboard provided hospitals with the actionable insights they needed to improve their quality ratings, leading to measurable improvements in both efficiency and funding.