EHR Patient Chart Redesign for Clinician Usability

This project is a UX-driven redesign of the most critical screen in any Electronic Health Record (EHR) system: the patient chart. The goal was to transform the typical, data-dense, and cluttered interface into a clean, scannable, and safe tool for clinicians. The resulting design prioritizes information according to a clinician's mental model, reducing cognitive load and helping to prevent medical errors.

The patient chart is the clinician's primary tool, yet it is consistently cited as a major source of burnout and frustration. Most existing EHR chart designs suffer from a core usability flaw: information hierarchy is either flat or non-existent.

This leads to significant problems:

Cognitive Overload: Clinicians are presented with a "wall of data," forcing them to hunt for the information they need.

Increased Risk of Errors: Critical data like patient allergies or abnormal lab results can be easily missed when buried in a sea of text.

Inefficiency: Precious minutes of a 15-minute appointment are wasted on navigating the software instead of engaging with the patient.

My objective was to design a patient chart that a busy clinician could understand in under 15 seconds, built on the principle that "Clarity is Safety."

For Clinicians: To find critical information instantly, reduce the risk of errors, and feel confident in their clinical decision-making.

For Patients: To receive safer, more focused care from a clinician who isn't fighting their software.

Role: UX/UI Designer

Persona: Dr. Evelyn Reed, a 42-year-old Primary Care Physician who needs to quickly prepare for each patient visit by understanding their full story at a glance.

My strategy was to structure the screen around a clinician's real-world workflow and thought process. I asked: "What are the first five things a doctor needs to know when they open a chart?" This question guided the entire information architecture.

The design is built on three key UX pillars:

Prioritize, Don't Just Present: Organize data based on clinical importance, not database structure.

Make Critical Information Unmissable: Use strong visual cues for high-risk data.

Provide Overview First, Details on Demand: Offer a high-level summary upfront, with deeper information easily accessible.

The final design brings order to the chaos of patient data.

The top of the screen is dedicated to patient identity and critical safety alerts. The patient's name, age, and a bright, impossible-to-miss allergy alert are permanently visible. This is a non-negotiable feature designed to prevent wrong-patient and wrong-medication errors.

The top-left of the screen—prime digital real estate—is an "at-a-glance" dashboard. It provides an immediate overview of the patient's current state, including:

Reason for Visit

Active Problems

Latest Vitals

Current Medications

This module allows a clinician like Dr. Reed to get oriented in seconds before diving deeper.

3. The "Deep Dive" Content Area

Deeper clinical information, such as encounter notes, lab results, and orders, is organized into clean, intuitive tabs. This "overview first, details on demand" approach prevents the user from being overwhelmed on the initial screen load while keeping comprehensive data just a single click away. The SOAP note format is used for clinical notes, matching the established mental model of physicians.

This human-centered design directly addresses the core frustrations of clinicians like Dr. Reed. It is projected to:

Reduce Time-to-Information by providing a scannable, prioritized overview.

Improve Patient Safety by making critical alerts and data highly visible.

Decrease Clinician Burnout by providing a tool that feels supportive, not obstructive.

Great design in healthcare isn't about aesthetics; it's about safety, efficiency, and empathy. This patient chart redesign demonstrates that by understanding and respecting a clinician's workflow, we can create tools that empower them to provide better care.