Guide patient journey

Client
HealthApp

Industry
Health

Year
2025

Role
Content Designer

Project Overview

Context

I was hired as a freelance Content Designer by a healthcare company to improve the appointment booking experience in their mobile app. The main pain point appeared when a healthcare professional canceled an appointment: patients often felt frustrated, unsure about what to do next, and many abandoned the platform.

This moment was critical for the business, since cancellations generated uncertainty around payment and refund policies and created a perception of unreliability.

My challenge was to redesign this part of the journey so patients would feel guided, reassured, and supported to either keep or reschedule their appointment without friction.

Objective

The goal was to design a content-driven solution that reduced patient frustration while ensuring business retention by keeping users engaged with clear, empathetic, and actionable communication.

  • Guides patients when their regular doctor is unavailable.

  • Reduces uncertainty and frustration.

  • Encourages rescheduling (with the same or another professional).

  • Preserves business value by retaining patients within the platform.

Responsibilities as Content Designer

My role combined UX Writing and Product Design. I was responsible for analyzing the cancellation journey, identifying gaps in communication, and designing flows and messages that balanced user clarity with business priorities.

I worked across research, ideation, and delivery, ensuring consistency of terminology, hierarchy, and interaction patterns in both notifications and in-app flows.

UX Strategy and Process

I worked independently as the Content Designer, collaborating closely with the client’s product lead and design partner. To structure the work, I applied the Double Diamond framework, moving from research to delivery. This ensured that the solution addressed both patient needs and the healthcare provider’s business goals: reducing drop-off when appointments were canceled.

Flowchart illustrating the problem-solving process with steps labeled Watch, Problem definition, and End, connected by a series of black lines and dots. 
Step 1 - Product Discovery

To understand the cancellation journey, I explored how patients interacted with appointment notifications and mapped critical pain points. I benchmarked both Brazilian and international apps, from healthcare platforms like Zocdoc and Teladoc to service apps like iFood and Uber, paying special attention to how they handled cancellations, refunds, and alternatives.

I also mapped initial assumptions and open questions:

  • Was the cancellation triggered by the professional or by a system mismatch?

  • Would patients be notified instantly or only when they opened the app?

  • At what stage did payments occur, and how were refunds communicated?

This helped me define the main friction points: unclear communication, lack of empathy, and limited alternatives when a regular doctor became unavailable.

Step 2 - Definition

“How might we communicate quickly and empathetically so patients understand their options and remain engaged when their regular doctor cancels an appointment?”

Step 3 - Ideation

I designed user flows that reduced friction by reusing the same layouts for both booking and rescheduling, simplifying the overall experience and avoiding duplicated journeys. The primary path was the reschedule flow, encouraging patients to either keep their slot with another professional or book the next availability with their regular doctor.

The secondary path was starting a new appointment from scratch, which reused the same patterns for consistency. Deleting an appointment was intentionally deprioritized, as it didn’t support retention.

Content design decisions were critical:

  • Standardizing terminology → “appointment” for clarity and “professional” for inclusivity.

  • Simplifying actions → “Book appointment” (new) and “Reschedule” (existing).

  • Unifying confirmations → “Appointment scheduled” across both paths.

User Journey Map

Step 4 - Delivery

I consolidated the work into journey maps, wireframes, and UI writing. The final delivery provided the healthcare company with a scalable and consistent cancellation flow, empathetic notifications, and a clear content system to guide patients during moments of frustration.

The result was a patient-centered experience that balanced empathy and business value: fewer drop-offs, stronger trust in the platform, and a smoother rescheduling process.

Flavia Foiato | Content Designer

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