Detailed case study
Cancer Treatment Diary redesign
Background
While I was at MSD (Pharma), chatting to a colleague, I noticed a cancer treatment diary on their desk which had been designed for patients to help them during their treatment.
I had a personal interest in this.
I’d watched my mother die of cancer a few years previously, and now my wife’s mother was going through the same battle.
One she would ultimately lose.
PERSONAL PROJECT
Existing patient treatment diary
Existing diary
Browsing through the diary I was struck by how verbose the content was – not easily digestible by someone going through immense biographic disruption, or a loved trying to make sense of what was happening to their relative.
I was also amazed, for a diary, how little space there was for notes to be made.
Having been freely given the permission to borrow it, I promptly set about redesigning it – from a patients and carers perspective.
Extracts from the existing diary
Redesign
Through guerrilla research I stripped back the diary into a more useful tool.
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Whittling down copy heavy pages but retaining the same message
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Giving greater clarity to note-entry pages
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Introducing a glossary section to help patients/carers understand ‘Doctor-speak’
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Adding an appointments section for patients/carers to plan their treatments
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Adding support information on diet and exercise
Printing off individual pages of my mock-up, I stuck them together to simulate what the diary would look and feel like before guerrilla testing on users.
I was even able to run my mock-up past a group of Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) visiting MSD on other business, while they were having lunch!
Extracts from mock-up version 2
Treatment card
Another feature of the existing diary I was keen to improve was a folding piece of paper stuck in the back of the booklet. The ‘Treatment Card’ listed possible side-effects that patients were encouraged to ‘carry with them at all times’.
Treatment card loosely glued in the back of the existing diary
The card folded out to reveal side-effects the patient should look out for
The 'card' was actually made of thin paper
Making this card of thin paper enabled it to be folded easily, but the downside was that tore and degraded quickly.
My solution was to replace the folded paper document with a robust ‘Credit Card’ style, featuring a QR code that would link to side-effects information on the MSD website.
That would enable the patient (or their carer) to quickly self-diagnose any potential side-effect by scanning the card and clicking on the appropriate body icons on the website.
Laminated card mocked up for testing (I bought a laminator for the job!)
Pocket in the side-effect information section
The new card was designed to slot neatly into a pocket in the new diary and could be removed and carried easily in the patient’s wallet or purse.
When a patient or carer scanned the QR code they would be taken to a area of the MSD website where they were presented with an interactive version of the flimsy leaflet.
Screens from the side-affects information
There was also information for Healthcare Providers that may encounter the patient at some stage – other than planned treatment visits.
Outcomes
The result was overwhelmingly positive during guerrilla testing, and when I introduced my idea to MSD, they were also very impressed, albeit somewhat surprised that I had taken the initiative and pursued it in my personal time.
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Within a matter of weeks my prototype was at the printers and when it landed back on the desk, other Therapy Areas within MSD were redesigning their treatment diaries to match!
Original
Mock-up version 1
Mock-up version 2
Final reprint