In collaboration with Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, I led the design of "Pathways," a data-driven tool aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of cancer care. By working closely with subject matter experts, data scientists, and business stakeholders, we created a solution that empowers providers and payers to make more informed decisions, leading to better patient outcomes and cost management.
The landscape of cancer care is becoming increasingly complex in the US. Rising patient numbers, escalating treatment costs, and the need for more effective and patient-centred approaches present significant challenges to healthcare organisations. In this project, our goal was to explore how data could be leveraged to address these challenges and drive meaningful improvements across the cancer care journey.
My collaboration with Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, a global leader in cancer research and treatment, provided me with a unique opportunity to work alongside experts in the field from Fred Hutch Institute in the US. I ran a research to understand the diverse needs and motivations of users within the healthcare system, focusing on both providers (medical directors, physicians) and payers (national account managers, contracting departments).
For providers, the tool was designed to illuminate quality gaps in care delivery, enabling them to compare patient outcomes, track improvement over time, and monitor adherence to best practices. For payers, the focus was on providing insights into cost drivers and supporting value-based care models.
To effectively communicate complex data, I designed a system of consistent symbols and a meaningful colour palette. The colour palette represented key factors affecting cancer care, such as time, cost, off-path deviations, and adverse events, allowing users to quickly identify areas of concern.
A tree structure inspired on the work of Edward Tufte was chosen to represent patient pathways, providing a clear visualisation of how different factors influence the overall care journey.
The tool's screen hierarchy was carefully designed to facilitate information discovery, enabling users to navigate from a high-level overview to granular details as needed. This allowed both providers and payers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the data, contextualise it within their specific roles, and make informed decisions to improve cancer care value.
A carefully designed colour palette represents key factors affecting cancer care, enabling quick identification of trends and anomalies.
Patient pathways are visualised using a tree structure, illustrating the flow of care and associated metrics.
A system of consistent symbols represents quantities and issues along the patient pathway.
The screen hierarchy allows users to navigate from a high-level overview to detailed information, supporting different levels of analysis.
The Pathways tool is designed for the key players in cancer care in the US: providers (doctors), payers (insurance), and researchers, enabling them to improve care quality and manage costs.
A crucial aspect of this project was to deeply understand the needs and motivations of users within the healthcare system, both providers and payers. This involved close collaboration with the clinical team at Fred Hutch to:
This research enabled us to design a tool that directly addressed the needs of both providers and payers, empowering them to improve cancer care value from their respective perspectives.
The ultimate goal of the Pathways tool was to empower users to take action and improve cancer care.
