The existing labs functionality was limited and impractical. Only 4 customers out of 70+ cared to enable the previous labs feature, burdened by a time consuming and expensive process that required manual work from lab technicians. The lab panel offerings themselves were limited and only available for specific conditions, centering around STIs, Strep Throat, and COVID-19. Without owning the previous labs feature from end-to-end, it led to a subpar experience with low utilization, even from the 4 customers who had the feature enabled.

Working with a 3rd party vendor allowed us to build the labs experience from the ground up, creating an end-to-end experience that we have full control over. On the provider side, we introduced 20+ offerings that providers can add to any visit based on medical necessity. Providers are able to see the status of the lab throughout the process, providing greater visibility and follow-up assistance than the previous offering afforded. They are able to provide an initial diagnosis when appropriate, and later update the assessment and treatment plan if the lab results necessitate it. This solution also made it more autonomous for the patient, giving them flexibility to choose based on insurance coverage, vendor (Quest, Labcorp, or at home), price, and location.

Introducing lab panels opens the door for new protocol offerings that need regular monitoring, such as Weight Loss or Acne. This shift in the care model could expand beyond just lab orders to also include aspects such as radiology, which could move Fabric closer toward being a player in the continuous care space.

This project was one of those discover-what-we-need-as-we-go types of projects. With guidance needed from the medical intelligence team, product, backend engineers, and the 3rd party vendor, I did what I normally wouldn’t and jumped straight into some high-fidelity mockups. I needed to provide visuals to ensure that we were all on the same page and could effectively gather clinical input despite their limited capacity, so modifying existing designs was the best way to ask “am I understanding these requirements correctly and is this medically appropriate?”

From there I could begin to narrow down when and where labs needed to appear, and how they would be integrated throughout the care experience.

Iterations and refinements came along the way, nailing down details from the information needed to order a lab all the way to the end of the process with critical results, but having a shared understanding over a high-fidelity mockup that reflected the current experience helped to keep this project on track.