Creating a more transparent and reassuring emergency care experience.

Emergency room visits are often characterized by uncertainty, stress, and a lack of communication. Patients and families frequently report that the most frustrating part of the entire experience is not necessarily the wait itself, but the inability to understand:

  • How long the wait may be

  • What happens next

  • Why other patients are being seen first

  • Whether their condition is worsening

  • How to communicate with staff during long waits

This lack of transparency can increase anxiety, reduce patient satisfaction, and place additional burden on hospital staff who must repeatedly answer the same questions.

Project Overview

Design Challenge

How might we provide patients and families with greater visibility into the emergency care process without disrupting clinical workflows or compromising patient privacy?

Proposed Solution

ClearER is a multi-platform patient communication ecosystem that provides real-time visibility into the emergency department journey.

The platform includes:

  • Patient mobile application

  • Family tracking portal

  • Emergency department kiosk

  • Nurse communication dashboard

The system provides personalized updates, estimated wait ranges, care stage visibility, educational content, and family communication tools designed to reduce uncertainty throughout the patient journey.

Problem

UX Researcher

  • Literature review

  • Competitive analysis

  • Journey mapping

  • Interview planning

My role

Product Designer

  • Product strategy

  • Information architecture

  • Wireframes

  • High-fidelity designs

  • Prototyping

  • Design system

Product Manager

  • Feature prioritization

  • Healthcare workflow analysis

  • Accessibility planning

  • KPI definition

Tools Used

Research & Data Collection

Research focused on:

  • Emergency department workflows

  • Patient satisfaction studies

  • Healthcare communication research

  • Hospital operations

  • Emergency triage systems

  • Healthcare accessibility standards

Additional research examined common pain points reported in emergency departments:

  • Long perceived wait times

  • Anxiety from uncertainty

  • Family communication breakdowns

  • Information overload

  • Difficulty understanding triage prioritization

Competitive Analysis

MyChart

Epic Systems patient tools

Cleveland Clinic patient apps

Cerner patient portals

Mount Sinai patient tracking systems

Key finding:

Most platforms focus on appointment management and records access rather than real-time emergency care communication.

Key Insights

  • Many patients are willing to wait when they understand why.

    Design implication: Provide visibility into care stages rather than focusing solely on wait estimates.

  • Family members often have little visiblity once a patient enters treatment.

  • Items such as glasses, wallets, keys, hearing aids, and medication containers are frequently misplaced, leading to unnecessary stress.

  • Many caregivers reported wanting occasional updates that their loved ones completed important daily tasks while still preserving independence and privacy.

Design Process

1. Problem Definition

The project began by identifying common pain points experienced by independently living older adults and mapping opportunities where technology could provide meaningful assistance without becoming intrusive.

The design challenge is:

How might we help older adults maintain independence while reducing the cognitive burden of everyday memory-related tasks?

2. User Personas

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

3. Information Architecture

The experience was intentionally simplified into five primary sections:

  • Home Dashboard

  • Medications

  • Appointments & Calendar

  • Journal

  • Find My Items

Reducing navigation complexity allows users to quickly complete tasks with minimal decision-making.

4. Wireframing

The experience was intentionally simplified into five primary sections:

  • Home Dashboard

  • Medications

  • Appointments & Calendar

  • Journal

  • Find My Items

Reducing navigation complexity allows users to quickly complete tasks with minimal decision-making.

Prototype Development

A high fidelity interactive prototype was created in Figma to stimulate the complete experience from onboarding through everyday use.

The prototype includes navigation between the dashboard, medication management, calendar scheduling, personal item tracking, and profile management, allowing users to experience how the system would function as an integrated product.

Transitions were intentionally kept simple to mirror the straightforward interaction model and to maintain focus on usability rather than visual effects.

PROTOTYPE

Conclusion & Next Steps

Remora explores how thoughtful product design can support aging populations through simplicity rather than technological complexity. By focusing on familiar interactions and essential daily tasks, the platform aims to reduce cognitive burden while promoting independence and confidence.

Future iterations would include formal usability testing with older adults and caregivers, refinement based on participant feedback, expanded accessibility accommodations, and integration with additional health management systems.

Although still conceptual, this project demonstrates a human-centered approach to designing technology that empowers users to live independently while maintaining dignity, autonomy, and connection with their support systems.

Expanding the Ecosystem