case study

Kaleida Health

Walking in Their Shoes: Humanizing Data through End-to-End Patient Journey Mapping

Research

Interviews

ai analysis

personas

patient journeys

Strategic Value & Organizational Outcomes

Unified Stakeholder Alignment

  • Shifted the organization's mindset to a shared, patient-centric vision
  • Moved siloed operations into a unified experience trancending departments

A Scalable Experience Blueprint

  • Delivered a reusable framework empowering individual clinics to audit their own workflows
  • Kept aligned with the broader network's experience standards

Identified Digital Interventions

  • Pinpointed exactly where humanizing the technology would have the greatest immediate impact
  • Focused on patient retention, communication clarity, and overall network satisfaction
Executive Summary

Navigating a large hospital network is inherently high-stress and usually fractured. The healthcare system collects vast amounts of operational and IT analytics, the actual human experience, was obscured by departmental silos. This lack of holistic visibility led to patient confusion, administrative delays, and compromised care satisfaction.

I sought to diagnose these systemic breakdowns. I led a comprehensive research and service design initiative to map the end-to-end patient journey. By synthesizing quantitative IT analytics gathered by the clients team with my qualitative patient surveys.

I developed an experience framework that humanized complex data, balanced conflicting stakeholder needs, and provided a tactical roadmap for patient-centered operational changes.

KEy Product Decisions

Data-Driven Scale vs. Empathetic Depth

Tension Point

Potential competing interest of pure data verses human factors

  • Hospital networks possess millions of data points no context of emotional reality
  • Omits anxiety, cognitive overload, and confusion that drives actual patient behavior and satisfaction.

design decision

Synthesized Analytics with Qualitative Personas and Journeys

  • I anchored massive IT data sheets into distinct, humanized user personas
  • I bridged cold operational metrics through the emotional lens of patient constraints and medical journeys

the trade-off

Dedicating project timeline to qualitative survey loops and empathetic modeling:

  • Delayed the immediate deployment of quick-fix digital journey patches
  • Our long-term architectural interventions targeted root-cause behavioral frustrations rather than surface-level symptoms
My Role

Lead UX Strategist, Research

responsibilities

Patient Profiles, Patient Flows, User Research, User Interviews, Stakeholder Interviews

collaborations

Solution Architects, Business Analyst, Business Process Consultant, User Researcher, Engagement Manager, Internal Leadership, Subject Matter Experts, Client IT Lead,

timeline

2.5 months to deliverables

touchpoints

Healthcare Systems, Service Design, Service-to-Digital Blueprints, Complex Operations

The Discovery & Architecture Loop

step 1 > Blending IT Analytics with Patient Field Research

I initiated a dual-track discovery phase to map out every physical and digital hospital touchpoint.

My team combined existing backend IT analytics data (tracking processing bottlenecks and drop-off rates) with active surveys targeting current patients navigating the system. This comprehensive audit captured the critical highs, lows, and hidden friction points of the ecosystem.

step 2 > Translating Statistics into Human Personas

To synthesize the research, I developed highly detailed User Personas representing key demographics engaging with the health system. These personas defined:

  • Typical cross-departmental interaction paths
  • Physical and digital accessibility barriers (WCAG alignment)
  • Specific emotional friction points and communication preferences

These personas served as our foundational hypothesis, allowing the design and product teams to accurately predict patient reactions to software and operational changes.

step 3 > Mapping the End-to-End Journey Roadmap

Using the personas to anchor our design choices, I built a holistic Patient Journey Map.

This architectural document visualized the entire cross-functional ecosystem, highlighting exactly where operational breakdowns occur, where communication drops, and where trust is built.

The final output provided executive leadership with a clear, prioritized roadmap to guide future software and service updates.

The Takeaways

Things I learned throughout this process.

Empathetic Mindset

Understanding what these patients are experiencing and putting yourself in their shoes

Cooks in the Kitchen

Need to balance between all stakeholders while putting patient experience first

Humanize the Tech

Need to bring a humanizing element to the tech that is interacting with patients