Health Resources & Services Administration

When regulations were put in place due to the onset of COVID-19, HRSA was put in a position where they had to get Telehealth.hhs.gov up ASAP in order to comply with government regulations. However, a time crunch like that does not lend itself time for strategizing content and that’s where Phase2 was able to come in and make impactful adjustments.

A content assessment was conducted and found that there was a disjointed user journey and content gaps to fill. User testing showed major pain points users were experiencing on the site that could be solved by implementing a foundation of user journeys and intents.  Small changes made a big impact in helping providers understand how to use telehealth technology, what was allowed in this digital setting, and how to make patients feel comfortable throughout the experience. 

As part of the UX design improvements, an expert review revealed recommendations including both quick fixes to ensure compliance with the U.S. Design web systems (USDWS) and longer-term redesign proposals to improve standards and consistency across the website. For example, adding iconography with links to chunk information to make it more digestible for users greatly improved the usability of the page. As content was continually developed, UX recommendations and improvements were made to create new page design templates. With these templates content writers were able to publish new content faster while still complying with the USDWS.

While COVID-19 created a force to adapt to newer technologies like telehealth, the disruption was the evolution that is now the new standard in how humans get care. Phase2 was able to support HRSA in their mission of speaking to all users and being the trusted resource for official information on telehealth. 

By conducting extensive user research, Phase2 was able to implement changes in accessibility, site structure, and design & content strategy that directly impacted users’ pain points. There isn’t a reason a site can’t follow regulations and also be easy for a provider or patient to navigate. Telehealth.hhs.gov is already reaching its objective to increase the awareness and adoption of telehealth and promote the long-term potential of telehealth -- specifically as a tool that can support the diverse health needs of the American public.
 

Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) may have been forced to create Telehealth.hhs.gov because of the restrictions of COVID-19, but this great disruption has set the new standard on how to get or provide remote healthcare services.