Rethinking a legacy healthtech application for modern clinical workflows

Client’s context

The client is a large healthcare network based in the United States. It comprises several clinics and a wide range of medical professionals from different specialties. Consequently, the organization must address clinical workflows, regulatory constraints, and fragmented IT systems.

The healthcare provider had previously developed a mobile application to support internal collaboration between physicians, primarily for cross-referral use cases. Over time, the application remained in use but received minimal updates. While it continued to deliver some value, its limited functionality and outdated design became apparent.

Initially, the client’s idea was relatively straightforward: refresh the application and improve its UI/UX. However, given the complexity of clinical workflows and the number of stakeholders involved, the client identified multiple areas where the product required significant evolution beyond a visual update.

To avoid fragmented efforts and misaligned decisions, a structured approach was necessary. For this reason, we were engaged to conduct a comprehensive discovery phase and define a clear, implementation-ready direction.

Original product

The original application was designed as a closed system for physicians only. Essentially, it functioned as a professional directory. Physicians could browse colleagues, explore their specializations, and quickly access contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses. Additional features included “favorites” lists and private notes based on previous collaborations.

Despite its simplicity, the product played an important role. Unlike other systems, it was optimized for interpersonal decision-making, helping physicians rely on their trusted network when making referrals.

Challenge

Over time, the application became increasingly misaligned with the realities of modern healthcare delivery.

From a technical standpoint, it was built on an outdated foundation. From a product perspective, its functionality remained largely unchanged while user workflows evolved.

More importantly, the application existed outside of the tools that physicians use daily, which reduced its practical value.

Meanwhile, the client’s vision expanded into a broader initiative aimed at extending the application’s functionality and integrating it into real workflows. This included new requirements around communication management, education tracking, and system integration.

Therefore, the challenge was not only to modernize the product, but also to redefine its role while maintaining its core value of facilitating fast, trust-based collaboration between physicians.

Discovery phase objectives

The discovery phase was initiated to structure the expanded scope by understanding how the application was used in practice, how it fit into workflows, and where it could deliver the most value.

As new requirements arose, the focus shifted to prioritizing them, validating their relevance, and aligning them with real workflows. The goal was to turn the initial idea of “refreshing the app” into a well-defined product vision with clear requirements and a structured implementation plan.

Discovery approach

The discovery process combined product analysis, UX evaluation, and technical assessment, delivered through a series of structured workshops with key stakeholders.

We analyzed the existing application within the context of real workflows, with a particular focus on referral coordination and communication patterns. This included identifying friction points and understanding where the product added—or failed to add—value and supported user needs.

In parallel, we reviewed the technical architecture to assess limitations and integration opportunities. Given the number of external systems involved, this step was essential in defining a feasible path forward.

To support alignment, we worked with the client’s team to translate concepts into interactive prototypes. These prototypes helped stakeholders visualize potential improvements, validate ideas, and develop a shared understanding of the future product.

Key insights

The discovery phase confirmed that the core functionality of the application—enabling physicians to quickly identify and contact trusted colleagues—remained highly valuable and needed to be preserved.

At the same time, it became clear that the product could no longer remain a standalone directory. Together with the client’s team, we defined several important directions:

• Email communication needed to be structured. Emails played a critical role, but managing their flow was extremely difficult. There was a clear need to introduce mechanisms for filtering and prioritizing only relevant and important notifications.
• Integration with learning systems became essential. Physicians needed visibility into required training and certifications. This led to the requirement to integrate with the LMS and display assigned courses directly within the application.
• The existing knowledge base was outdated and disorganized. It needed to be redesigned and transformed into a CMS to enable structured content management and seamless integration with the mobile app.
• Reliable and up-to-date physician data was essential. Since contact and profile information was managed in Salesforce, integration with this system became a key requirement.

These findings showed that the product was ready to evolve from a simple directory into a multifunctional tool.

Proposed product evolution

Based on these findings, we determined that maintaining the existing business logic was no longer relevant. Instead, a new foundation was required.

Our team proposed a full redevelopment of the application with a redesigned architecture and updated product logic. While preserving the core use case of referral support, the new solution would include the following:

• A redesigned UI/UX focused on speed, clarity, and minimal friction
• Advanced search and filtering capabilities to quickly identify the right specialists
• Structured notification management, including filtering of email-based communication to highlight only relevant updates
• LMS integration, allowing physicians to track required courses and certifications directly within the application
• A CMS-driven knowledge base, enabling centralized content management and seamless delivery to mobile users
• Salesforce integration to ensure accurate, real-time access to physician profiles and contact information

This approach ensures that the application not only improves usability but also becomes part of physicians’ daily workflows.

Outcomes

By the end of the discovery phase, the project had evolved from an undefined modernization effort into a structured product initiative.

A series of stakeholder workshops resulted in a consolidated understanding of requirements, priorities, and constraints. These insights were formalized into a Product Requirements Document (PRD), which became the foundation for future development.

The PRD defined the new product vision, key features and integrations, and outlined the architectural direction required to support them.

Value delivered

The discovery phase provided clarity in a situation where scope and expectations were expanding.

We helped the client move from a loosely defined idea to a structured and validated product direction. By identifying what to preserve and what to redesign, the team avoided unnecessary rework and reduced implementation risk.