Healthcare SaaS · Tablet
A scheduling tool clinic staff can use one-handed
Front-desk staff book, move and confirm visits while still on the phone.
- Role
- Product designer (research and UI)
- Timeline
- 14 weeks
- Team
- Founder, 2 engineers, clinical advisor
- Tools
- Figma, ProtoPie, Lookback
The problem
Reception staff juggled a phone, a patient at the desk and a desktop calendar built for managers. Simple changes took many clicks, and double bookings slipped through.
Constraints
- Shared tablets at the desk, often used standing up.
- Patient data rules limited what could appear on screen.
- Staff had little time for training.
Key decisions
Decision 1
Design for the thumb, not the cursor
I shadowed three clinics and saw staff hold the tablet in one hand. Primary actions moved to the lower edge within thumb reach.
Photo: tablet use at a clinic front desk (anonymised)Decision 2
Make a move a drag, not a form
Rescheduling became a drag between open slots, with conflicts shown before the drop instead of after saving.
Prototype: dragging a visit into an open slotDecision 3
Show only what the desk needs
Day view shows initials, visit type and status. Full patient details stay one deliberate tap away.
Before and after: day view density
The solution
A tablet-first day view with large touch targets, drag to reschedule, and conflict warnings that appear while the visit is still in hand.
Results
Staff in the pilot clinics learned the core tasks in one short session, and the founder used the pilot to plan the wider rollout.
What I learned
Testing on real shared tablets, with gloves and glare, found issues no desk-based prototype test would have shown.
Next case study
One design system for two products that had drifted apartWorking on something similar?
Start a project