Filtering and Sorting Features on My
HealtheVet on VA.gov

Mockup of Medical Records design before and after filtering and sorting features

Overview

6M

Users on MHV on VA.gov

100,000+

Veterans accessing Medical Records (MR) domains daily

0

Current filtering or sorting features in MR

The context: The Medical Records domain on the My HealtheVet (MHV) portion of VA.gov is where Veterans can access their medical information. Their lab and test results, care summaries and doctor's notes, vitals, allergies, vaccine records, and health conditions are all housed within Medical Records. These records often go back several years, and contain important information that Veterans need to access frequently, to either view online or to print.

The problem: Veterans often have hundreds or even thousands of medical records, and it can be difficult to find the exact lab test, doctor's note, or other medical history at any given moment. This can be especially challenging for Veterans with cognitive or physical disabilities, as well as for Veterans navigating the site on their mobile phone or with limited internet.

The solution: Adding in filtering and sorting features will allow Veterans to more quickly and easily surface the medical records they need.

What is currently shown?

There is no filtering and sorting on any Medical Records page. As such, Veterans navigate to their records by going to the relevant domain (ex. Lab and test results, or Care summaries and notes), and then using pagination to find the individual record they are looking for. All domains are sorted newest to oldest on default.

Original designs of the Medical Records landing page, Lab and test results landing page, and Care summaries and notes landing page, which have no filtering and sorting options

What can we learn from users?

Research findings shows that Veterans were struggling to find records.

Problem:

Veterans need a more efficient way to navigate through medical records, so that they can quickly find specific records.

Arrow pointing down

Solution:

Add in filtering and sorting features to narrow down the records listed.

First Design Draft

I began iterating on how best to allow Veterans to more easily find records, which included thinking through where to put sort and filter designs. And, it was important to think through if the same sort and filter abilities should apply to each domain. For example:
-Is sorting alphabetically useful in finding Lab and test results, or in finding Vaccines?
-Should Veterans filter by date, or by provider name, or by something else?

Mockups showing an open and a closed filter, as well as with and without the sort feature

Final Designs

The preliminary designs showcased above went through multiple stages of feedback from the Medical Records UX Design Lead, accessibility team leads, and Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) team members.

I implemented changes based on feedback from the various stakeholders, such as including the filter icon for cross-platform design consistency and providing additional instructions for accessibility considerations.

Phone mockups of designs with filter and sort
Mockups showing each design draft


The final design showcased here shows how both the filtering and sorting features can be used together. However, it is important to note that each domain within Medical Records has its own logic given the different use cases of each domain.

The user flow below highlights these differences. Furthermore, these UI changes impacted PDF and TXT file designs, so it was important to think of the downstream implications of these designs.

User flow for filtering and sorting in Medical Records

Results:

These designs were still being built by the end of our contract with MHV. As a result, these results are expected but not confirmed.

  • Decreased time in finding medical results
  • Reduced frustration signals and error rates
  • Decreased pain points across Medical Records domain

Next steps and learnings:

  • Ensured proper handoff with developers, which included scheduling time to go through each element of the design with the assigned developer to anticipate any questions or areas of concern, since this was an entirely new design feature
  • Monitored development progress
  • Updated our changelog and Figma files so that production matched design
  • Coordinated with UX researchers to prepare to monitor tool use via Datadog and Medallia feedback
  • Planned for future usability tests
  • This project reaffirmed the importance of collaboration and process standardization with stakeholders, to ensure designs are always consistent and user-friendly