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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.
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.
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Veterans need a more efficient way to navigate medical records, so they can quickly find specific ones.
Add filtering and sorting features to narrow down the records listed.
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, such as:
Is sorting alphabetically useful for Lab and test results, or for Vaccines?
Should Veterans filter by date, by provider name, or by something else?
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Designs went through multiple rounds of feedback from the Medical Records UX lead, accessibility leads, and 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.
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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.
These designs were still in development at the end of our contract with MHV — results are expected but not yet confirmed.
Decreased time spent finding medical records
Reduced frustration signals and error rates
Decreased pain points across the Medical Records domain
Handed off to developers, walking through each design element to anticipate questions
Monitored development progress and kept Figma/changelogs in sync with production
Coordinated with researchers to monitor tool use via Datadog and Medallia feedback
Planned for future usability testing
Reaffirmed the value of process standardization with stakeholders