Enhancing The Visibility of the Search Feature
Company
Medscape — Comprehensive resource for medical news, CME, and professional tools
Medscape serves as a valuable resource for healthcare professionals seeking reliable information, education, and tools to support their clinical practice.
Context
Key Findings and Design Proposals from a Comprehensive User Study
Medscape is pivotal in transforming medical practice by providing crucial, informative content that supports informed decision-making in healthcare. Recognizing the need for accessible, user-friendly information, this project engaged five usability researchers to conduct a thorough Moderated Remote User Test.
10 healthcare professionals were interviewed to ensure accuracy. The study aimed to evaluate and improve Medscape’s search experience, resulting in 3 key recommendations: Enhancing The Search Bar’s Prominence With Integrated Filters, Streamlining Filter Options On The Search Results Page, and Incorporating Intuitive Language in the Drug Interaction Checker. After the user research, we visualize the new design and proposed to Medscape UX/Design team.
Enhancing the visibility of the search feature projects preview
Authentic User
We consulted with Hannah Goldstrow, the Director of Design/UX at Medscape.com
Based on our analysis, we came up with the following user profile:
-Physician
-Registered nurse
-Pharmacist
-Other health professionals
A total of 10 participants will take part in the study, with 5 participants testing on mobile and 5 participants testing on desktop
The study involves three scenarios and corresponding tasks, along with a post-test survey
Scenario + Task #1
You have a patient with a complex drug regimen, and you want to review potential drug interactions to ensure their safety
Search for potential interactions between "Warfarin" and "Aspirin.”
Scenario + Task #2
You are attending a medical conference next week and want to prepare by reviewing the latest news or research on a specific topic.
Find recent articles or studies on "Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment."
Scenario + Task #3
You are interested in finding a relevant CME activity for gaining credits, and you need to ensure that you are up to date with the most recent information in your field in the form of classes, articles, and other helpful content
Starting at the Medscape.com homepage, find a related CME activity that would help you meet the yearly credit requirements
After user testing with 10 health care worker (7 Physicians, 2 Nurses, 1 Pharmacist), we have uncovered 3 key problems
#1
Global search lacking specificity
#2
While the search bar is easily located, it can be tedious to find the desired information in some articles, requiring a thorough search
#3
Users were frustrated by the search inputs and confused by the mechanics that required deleting the first input before entering subsequent inputs
Scenario + Task #1
You have a patient with a complex drug regimen, and you want to review potential drug interactions to ensure their safety
Search for potential interactions between "Warfarin" and "Aspirin.”
Scenario + Task #2
You are attending a medical conference next week and want to prepare by reviewing the latest news or research on a specific topic.
Find recent articles or studies on "Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment."
Scenario + Task #3
You are interested in finding a relevant CME activity for gaining credits, and you need to ensure that you are up to date with the most recent information in your field in the form of classes, articles, and other helpful content
Starting at the Medscape.com homepage, find a related CME activity that would help you meet the yearly credit requirements
Golbal search lacking specificity
1. Users had difficulty with the global search bar design on the Medscape website
They desired a more comprehensive search option from the outset of their search, allowing them to be more specific
Enhance search visibility and enable immediate filtering
1. Make the global search bar more prominent and enable filtering from the beginning of the search
Final design of enhance search visibility
Tedious to find the desired information
1. Although participants could reduce their search results to find the information they needed, some wished for a more user-friendly filter function and simpler page design
Simplified filtering on search results
1. As a result of this feedback, we would recommend removing the duplicative headings on the search results page and instead incorporating them into the filter options, as most are already represented within the existing filters. Additionally, we would recommend moving the filter
options so that they are immediately visible to the user, with their individual options available within drop-down menus.
Highlights of the search results
a. After inputting the search word and clicking the search button, the search bar will be cleared, so that users can more conveniently search other topics
b. The search result is directly displayed and shows how many results are there for the search key word
c. The selected filter is consistent in color
(Medscape blue), and users can easily clear it
Final design of simplified filtering on search results
Problem #3
Previous user story
1. While participants found the drug interaction checker and its results satisfactory, they were dissatisfied with the search inputs on the page
Some participants wished for a simpler process to access the checker, while another participant struggled with the mechanics of the search, preventing them from completing the task
1. To minimize the modifications, placeholders are used instead of the original occupancy of the previous drug
the input will be cleared, after being added
Final design of designed intuitive language and signals