A User Experience Overhaul: Rpharmy’s Quest to Improve Healthcare Safety

Our #1 highest priority is improving patient outcomes and the health and well-being of healthcare workers. We accomplish this by making your critical job easier through easy-to-use but in-depth safety information platforms. We never see our job as complete in this area and are always working for you. 

In the last few years, we’ve focused on ensuring our products meet your USP <800> compliance and medication safety needs by ramping up the drug monograph and safety information. More recently, we recognized a need to improve the user experience (UX) of our solutions, enhancing the look, feel, and functionality of our products. We embarked on an extensive UX project with Ix (pronounced Nine), a talented user experience designer. From seemingly minor customer requests to our latest UX endeavor, it’s all for you!

We’ll launch the new versions of Rhazdrugs, Formweb, and BlackboxRX throughout 2024, but no fear—you’ll be the first to know. 

First things first, let’s talk about UX and what it means to you…Our amazingly talented UX designer, Ix, has shared his insights into UX so we can better explain what we’re up to. 

WHAT DOES ‘USER EXPERIENCE’ OR ‘UX’ MEAN? 
While UX, or user experience, is often used to refer to website usability, it is not limited to an online experience and instead refers to the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product, service, system, or company.

The aim of UX design is to solve a user’s needs as simply as possible and create an enjoyable and seamless interaction between people and the products they use. To accomplish these goals UX design draws on principles from psychology, sociology, computer science, and graphic design to create human-centered products. 

Designers like Ix go the extra mile and conduct research to understand customers' perceptions, emotions, and responses related to their profession and the results of their interactions with a product or service. UX designers use this valuable information to create experiences and interactions that are intuitive, easy to use and understand, accessible to people with diverse abilities or impairments, and satisfying and enjoyable to use. 

By placing the user at the center of the design process, UX designers work to create thoughtful and tailored experiences that ultimately lead to higher user engagement, increased conversions, and a positive brand reputation.

HOW DOES USER EXPERIENCE AFFECT YOU AS A CUSTOMER? 
We all know a bad UX when we see or experience it, whether online or in real life. Poorly designed UX can result in customer frustration, inefficiency, and negative perceptions of the product or brand. 

A well-designed UX can increase user satisfaction, productivity, and enjoyment of the product or brand. It also ensures that users can accomplish their tasks effectively and efficiently, with minimal effort or confusion, which we hope to accomplish with our UX overall. This can help you save time, reduce effort, and reduce the risk of making errors, which is critical in healthcare. An efficient and intuitive interface enables you to stay focused on your goals rather than struggle with a difficult-to-navigate or understand interface. We’ve all experienced frustration online when we can’t find the information or tool we’re looking for. 

If all goes well, UX design can positively impact your emotional experience with a design that is aesthetically pleasing, enjoyable, and tailored to your needs.

WHAT DEFINES A POSITIVE USER EXPERIENCE? 
Let’s dive deeper into a positive user experience. While the definition can change based on the needs of the user and the value that the system is providing, there are several common elements we usually look to as necessary elements of a positive user experience:

• Usability: A positive user experience should be easy to use and understand, allowing users to accomplish their tasks efficiently and effectively. This includes intuitive navigation, clear instructions, and consistency throughout the interface.
• Accessibility: The design should be accessible to users with diverse abilities, ensuring that everyone can interact with the product or service regardless of any physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments.
• Relevance: A positive user experience is tailored to the user's needs, preferences, and context, ensuring the content and functionality are useful and relevant to the user's goals.
• Aesthetics: Visual design elements, such as layout, color, typography, and imagery, should be pleasing to the eye and contribute to the overall emotional experience of the user.
• Emotional Impact: A positive user experience should evoke positive emotions, such as delight, satisfaction, or confidence, making users feel good about their interaction with the product or service.

• Updated visual design: We’ve updated and refreshed the visual designs to bring all the interface elements together and make everything look and feel like Rpharmy. 
• Improved accessibility: We’ve made some changes in the UI (User Interface) language and used a new color palette to help ensure that more people—including those with visual impairments—can easily see the words and icons. We’re working within the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) to ensure all aspects of the solutions are as accessible as possible.
• Reduced clutter: We’re eliminating any unnecessary visual elements or unhelpful information that might make locating valuable features or medication information more difficult.
• Consistency in the interface: We’re working to make Rpharmy products more intuitive and learnable by using consistent styles and templates across all pages, showing data and functionality the same way everywhere.
• Activity-centric: We’re exploring ways to reorganize the information and flows to more closely support the work and needs of you, our users.