Price Transparency

A case study

For

CVS Minute Clinic

Role

Research & UX

Contribution

UX, UI, wire frames, research and analysis

About

Create the ability for users to find out if their insurance plan was accepted by CVS and how much services would cost.

My Process

Define business & user goals
Understand your users
Research & Analyze the data
Design wire frames and hi-fidelity screens
Validate with users
Refine the screens
Deliver the project

Defining the Problem

Hypothesis

People are more likely to schedule an appointment if:
- they see the retail price prior to booking;
- they know their insurance will cover the visit.
Customers are willing to provide more information about their insurance plan and the reason for visit if it results in more accurate pricing.
Providing an accurate estimate of out-of-pocket (OOP) costs would build brand trust and differentiate CVS in the market.

Risks

Being more transparent than our competitors could cause
a decrease in appointments booked.
If scheduling an appointment takes longer, completion rates
might decrease.
If we cannot get reliable information from patients or payers,
we may have difficulty fulfilling the promise of greater accuracy.

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Research

I conducted interviews with 30 current MinuteClinic users over a three week time span.
They were asked what were the biggest pain points in making a MinuteClinic appointment.
Users revealed that they valued:
- price transparency
- if their insurance would be accepted by the provider.

View the Interview script

Voice of the Customer

An online customer-facing survey tool called Voice of the Customer was consulted. Users often record their frustrations here.
We collected all their responses for a three month time span connected to pricing. It supported our users' frustration in not knowing up-front costs of treatment. See below:

"Crazy Eights"

We used the Crazy Eights brainstorming exercise to quickly generate a wide range of ideas for an app that helps users find out if CVS accepts their insurance and what services will cost. In just eight minutes, I sketched eight different screen concepts, exploring ways to simplify the insurance lookup and price transparency process. This helped spark creative solutions and identify the most user-friendly features to develop further.

Analysis & Brainstorming

All data was gathered and organized during a brainstorming session that included product managers, developers. designers. and accessibility experts.
Affinity mapping and a sketching exercise were completed by the group.
Research suggested that users:
- Wanted real-time price transparency
- Wanted to know what would their out-of-pocket cost be
- If their insurance would be accepted
- Wanted ease of use.
- Wanted their data saved, so they did not have to add it every time.
Our persona, Sophia, was consulted and a user journey was created.

Early Wireframing

Several iterations of wireframes in Figma were completed.
A quick prototype was created and tested using User Testing.

Testing

We used five of our current users. This was done in User Testing.
I analyzed the feedback from testing and presented it to our design group.
Testing indicated that we were generally on the right track with positive reviews from 4 out of 5 subjects.
When asked to tell us 3 words that described the new experience to them, users replied with, terms such as: fantastic, efficient, helpful, and confident.
Users expressed that they would want to simply upload their insurance card to avoid errors.
Others wanted us to retain all of their user data, which would mean an authorized experience, adding to the complexity of the project.

I would grab my insurance card to fill this out and I'm comfortable with that. I want to know how much money I can save.

User testing participant

Hi-fidelity Designs: Lucas checks his Insurance

Lucas (One of our personas), suspects he may have Pink eye.
He accesses the Minute Clinic website, and taps on the "Insurance Lookup" button.
Finding that his insurance plan is accepted by Minute Clinic gives Lucas the clarity and confidence to seek care.

Hi-fidelity Designs: Lucas discovers the cost

Now After finding his service and typing in his location, Lucas is presented with the cash estimate for the visit.
This allows Lucas a measure of clarity and understanding that it is cheaper than urgent care.

Hi-fidelity Designs: Sophia adds her Insurance Information

Sophia (Another one of our personas) discovers she can add her insurance information two different ways. She is prompted to do this the first time she logs in to Minute Clinic.
Sophia can add it manually using the screens provided
Sophia can also easily add it by taking a photo of the front and back of her insurance card.

Hi-fidelity Designs: Joan get's help from Minute Clinic

Joan (One of our personas) get's help during scheduling trying to understand her condition.
She is also easily able to add her insurance information and see the cost of the visit.
Joan is logged in to the Minute Clinic site.

Conclusion

A phased approach was decided upon to slowly introduce these features into MinuteClinic.
Feedback would then be gathered from analytics.