Modernizing in-clinic medication refills at scale
I led research and design for a digital in-clinic refill workflow that helped nurses and dietitians complete refills faster and with more patient oversight. Staff reported 70% faster refills across 2,800+ clinics supporting 43,000+ patients.
Product manager, business systems analyst, Salesforce engineers, data team, and myself
"David stayed engaged through the pilot, helped us address edge cases, and iterated until the solution worked in the real world — not just in Figma."
The Problem
Paper Refills Pulled Nurses Away From Patient Care
Before digitization, in-clinic refills depended on paper forms, fax handoffs, clipboards, and phone calls with pharmacy. Nurses spent time printing, tracking, signing, and refaxing forms — while refill status disappeared from view once paperwork left the clinic.
Administrative burden: Printing, signing, refaxing, and tracking forms pulled hours away from patient-facing work each week.
Visibility gap: Pharmacy systems tracked every step, but clinics had no shared view—status checks defaulted to phone calls.
Mapping
Defining the Structure
Structuring information intuitively — reducing cognitive load, streamlining workflows, and helping clinicians deliver better care.
1. Object Mapping for Clarity
I mapped the key objects in the refill workflow — patients, medications, prescriptions, refills, addresses, and users — to understand what information staff needed and how those objects related to each action.
2. Turning Objects Into Workflow
I translated the object map into an early workflow model, testing how refill actions, prescription details, addresses, and submission steps could stay connected without overwhelming the screen.
Testing and iterating
Refining the Workflow With Clinic Staff
Testing helped narrow the interface to the information staff needed most: enough context to act safely, without turning each refill into another chart review.
1. Show Only What’s Essential
Testing showed that staff preferred minimal information upfront, with secondary details like tracking or shipping dates available only when needed.
2. Use Defaults to Reduce Decisions
Staff wanted date visibility, but pre-selecting today’s date reduced ambiguity and helped them move through the refill task faster.
3. Discovering an Edge Case
Piloting with select clinics showed us that clinic staff needed to change the shipping address more often than we anticipated. That gave us the incentive to roll the address management function into the workflow, instead of making the user open a separate Salesforce tab to complete the action during a refill.
The Solution
A Focused Digital Refill Workflow
The final workflow let staff move from refill need to submission in one place: scan the essentials, verify prescription details, and submit with the required patient, shipping, and confirmation context close at hand.
Impact
The Refill Button, Deployed at Scale
Reported refill time dropped by ~70%, while staff gained clearer medication visibility across 2,800+ clinics serving 43,000+ patients.
1. Time Saved for Clinic Staff
The workflow reduced repeat calls, paper handling, and pharmacy lookups, giving staff back time each week.
"Realistically on a big program you're saving 2–3 hours per week."
2. Faster Answers for Patients
Shipment and refill status became visible in the workflow, helping staff answer patient questions without calling pharmacy.
"Quick. Was able to see shipment, call patient back within minutes."
3. Easy Adoption at the Point of Care
Staff could refill medications from the clinic workflow without learning a separate process or leaving the patient context.
"It's super easy, literally the push of a button. We LOVE it."
