Meditech EHR Complete Redesign

Leading the end-to-end redesign and rebuild of the analyzer workflows within Meditech Expanse Laboratory.

Design, code, design system, components, everything is on the table.

Context

I joined Meditech at the start of a full rebuild from the ground up of its Laboratory Information System — new codebase, workflows, interaction patterns, and design system — designed to replace a legacy system first built in 1976.

I was embedded as the UX / Product Designer on the Analyzer team, working with 5 developers in an Agile model (Kan-Ban and sprinting). The environment required high ownership, fast decision-making, and deep trust between design and engineering—values that strongly align with modern tech culture.

Problem

  • Department-based silos forced users to navigate multiple desktops to process a single specimen

  • Critical information was hidden behind menus

  • High cognitive load led to complex training

  • Implementation was complex due to inconsistent workflows across departments, and kitchen-sink type builds

  • The system optimized for historical constraints - not for how lab technologists actually work.

My Role

  • End-to-end workflow redesign

  • Product thinking and UX strategy

  • UX research: user interviews, stakeholder interviews, visual thinking strategy sessions (VTS), user testing, site visits, journey mapping

  • Collaboration with engineering and QA in Agile delivery

  • Early system, navigation, and interaction patterns design and research

Traveling to Toronto, Ontario for site visits to leading Canadian hospitals

Specimens - not patients or tests - are the true unit of work in hospital laboratories.

Designing around anything else does not make sense.

Solutions

Eliminate the Silos

Before: Users focussed on the test and the department, and had to navigate between multiple desktops to perform one task.

After: A single, unified specimen tracker spanning all departments and analyzers. The silo is not the center of the workflow anymore, the specimen is.

Impact:

  • Reduced context switching

  • Lower cognitive load

  • Shorter learning curve for new users

Shift to a Specimen Centric Model

Many specimens include multiple tests across departments.

Design decision: Center the experience on the specimen.

Impact:

  • Consolidated related actions and data

  • Reduced duplicated effort

  • Improved traceability and confidence

Design the Specimen Tracker

The Specimen Tracker became the primary workspace for lab technologists.

From this single surface, users can:

  • Process specimens from analyzers

  • Perform manual resulting

  • Review and act on critical values

  • Compare historical results

  • Document decisions

  • View a complete audit trail

Instead of hiding actions in menus, the UI pushes relevant information and actions to users at the moment they are needed.

Impact:

  • Designed to significantly reduce cognitive load

  • Reduced time spent searching for information

  • Increased confidence during result verification

Design for Scale and Flexibility

Labs vary widely in size, staffing, and shift structure.

The tracker supports:

  • Filtering by specific analyzers or benches (day-to-day workflow)

  • Viewing all departments and analyzers (night shift, small hospitals)

  • Easily accessible settings and preferences

Impact:

  • Single workflow adaptable across environments

  • Reduced need for role- or site-specific interfaces

  • Shorter implementation timelines

Accessibility

Accessibility was built-in from the start.

  • WCAG 2 compliant designs

  • Team trained with an accessibility coach

  • Considered keyboard navigation, focus states, and screen reader behavior early

Pain Points

Constraints

  • No established design system, navigation model, and minimal component library

  • High ambiguity across teams

  • Frequent leadership reviews requiring polished, cohesive designs

How we addressed the gaps:

  • Created a prioritized list of needed components

  • Partnered closely with the design system team

  • Built an interim XLIS component library using accessibility-compliant standards

  • Shared components across teams to reduce design and engineering debt

Design System Case Study

This project is an amazing opportunity to lay the groundwork for a massive infrastructure impacting the lives of so many patients and healthcare workers across the world.

It definitely requires comfort evolving within the gray, taking one step at a time, trusting my voice and skill in navigating a corporate environment.

This is the first step for Meditech into a new paradigm that puts the user at the center of all interactions.