Previously, I discussed the demand for a digital experience in healthcare. This post analyzes the five key points for designing and implementing a practical, patient-centered website. 
Given the cluttered healthcare content landscape, it’s more important than ever to innovate and consistently deliver a gold standard website experience that provides the content that patients want and need. Check out these five building blocks of the practical, patient-centered website.
1. Design for ease of access
Fifteen seconds. That’s the average time users spend on a website, though it may be longer for healthcare content. Regardless, minimize the clicks, taps, and swipes required for a user to reach their destination. Intuitive site architecture is the product of designing around user feedback, subject matter expert input, and design best practices.
2. Design for look and feel
Digital content, even for more complex healthcare information, should be brief, with options for the consumer to read more detailed content if desired. A picture paints a thousand words, as do custom-designed icons and infographics, so be sure to strike the right balance between text and visuals.
3. Integrate a reliable internal search function
There’s nothing more frustrating to a user than searching a website and getting pages of search results that have nothing to do with the keyword being searched. Worse yet is receiving zero results when it’s a known specialty of the hospital or clinic. Invest in a proven search engine and optimize all content for search.
4. Promote the right features
Patients expect certain mainstay content from a hospital or clinic website, including these features:
- Find a doctor
- Request an appointment
- Patient portal
- Directions, parking, and wayfinding
- Patient journey information
- Pay a bill
- Messaging – two-way messaging between patients and providers
- Virtual appointments/ e-visits
5. Design responsively
All features should conform to responsive design standards for all devices (laptops, widescreen desktops, tablets, wearables) and be optimized for smartphones. Everyone knows the frustration of using a mobile device to view content designed only for desktop.
To learn how to break through the clutter with these 5 tips for building a patient-centered website, you can click here, or submit the form below.
