Goals

Formed by a merger of two regional systems in 2018, Ballad Health is a multi-state health system that serves parts of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. They operate a family of 21 hospitals and other facilities.

Across the system, patients used MyChart, but were frustrated that they couldn’t complete other basic tasks, such as scheduling appointments or paying bills as a guest.

Our goal was to build an app that made it easier for patients to do things and find things.

Services Provided

Learn about EHR mobile app integration

Mobile App Research

Modea did extensive discovery work and a thorough competitive analysis to look at the mobile app landscape and discern the best practices.

We examined:

  • Features of MyChart.
  • Features of apps from out-of-industry comparables such as CitiBank and American Express.

This research led us to determine 4 key things healthcare mobile apps need:

  1. Simplified pathways: You don’t need to scroll through multiple screens to find the tool you need.
  2. Streamlined, branded appearance: It’s easy to use and feels like part of the health system brand.
  3. Strong hierarchy of information: The tools you’re most likely to need are the most prominent.
  4. Easily understood calls-to-action: Calls-to-action are highlighted and easy to see.
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Mobile App Design

We were able to design an experience for Ballad Health that touches MyChart in a way that’s familiar to customers. But it’s a more streamlined mobile experience that Ballad Health fully owns, and that provides the other digital tools customers most need.

Using the Ballad Health app, users can:

  • Request appointments.
  • Message members of their care team.
  • Find a doctor in the Ballad Health system.
  • See past and upcoming appointments.
  • View and refill prescriptions.
  • Pay their bill.
  • Estimate their bill.
  • See test results.
  • See immunizations, allergies, and other health information.
  • See completed paperwork.
  • Create health trackers.

Ballad Health also has flexibility to add features as they need. Instead of playing catch-up, having their own mobile app allows them to be in front of changing customer needs.

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App Development Highlights

Modea Engineers leveraged an innovative approach to develop Ballad Health’s app, which included:

  • Building the mobile app in Ionic, a development platform that allowed us to build one codebase that worked across both iOS and Android.
  • Working in Angular, a widely used, client side Javascript framework that is easy and cost-effective to maintain.
  • Integrating Phynd data to power the find-a-doctor experience within the app.

Leveraging this suite of tools allowed us to build an app that:

  • Has a unified visual language (looks the same on IOS and Android).
  • Is more flexible and easy to maintain.
  • Allows for the ultimate customization, while still housing the native Epic functionality within MyChart.

Outcomes

This modern, user-friendly experience brings the main calls to action to the forefront. It allows users to interact with the features they use most through personalization.

Within the first year after launch, revenue-driving interactions increased significantly.

Awards

Davey Awards

  • Mobile Apps - Visual Design - Silver

W3 Awards

  • Mobile Apps - Visual Design - Gold
  • Mobile Apps - UX - Silver
  • Best User Experience - Silver
  • Best Practices - Silver
  • Best User Interface - Silver

Digital Health Awards

  • Mobile App - Silver