BCBS Pharmacy Experience

Background

Introduction/Overview

The Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Pharmacy Experience project involved a comprehensive update to the existing pharmacy platform, including a transition from the ExpressScripts API to the CareMark API. As UI/UX Designer, I was responsible for a range of critical tasks, including the creation of new user flows, wireframes, the design of interactions and animations, the production of high and low-fidelity prototypes, and the documentation of all design system modifications. The primary objective of this redesign was to enhance the user experience, provide plan members with a clearer understanding of their pharmacy benefits, and improve overall user satisfaction and self-service utilization.

Users and Pain Points

The legacy BCBS Pharmacy Experience was encumbered by several key issues:

  • Outdated Design: The platform's design was not contemporary, which negatively impacted the user experience.

  • API Transition: The transition from the ExpressScripts API to the CareMark API presented a significant technical challenge that necessitated a user-centric design approach.

  • Limited Benefit Visibility: Plan members experienced difficulty in obtaining a clear and comprehensive view of their available pharmacy benefits.

These issues collectively contributed to user frustration, low self-service utilization, and a diminished perception of the platform.

Solutions

The redesign of the BCBS Pharmacy Experience yielded several notable solutions:

  • New Pharmacy Hub Page: A new pharmacy hub page was created, providing users with a centralized view of all their available pharmacy benefits.

  • Design System Overhaul: The design system was updated with new animation and interaction patterns, empty states, card designs, and typography standards, resulting in a modernized and consistent user experience.

These solutions were implemented to address the identified problems and to furnish users with a more intuitive, informative, and engaging experience.

Challenges

The project, while successful, was not without its challenges:

  • Rotating Product Owners: The project experienced frequent changes in product ownership, with at least six different product owners during the project lifecycle. This necessitated a high degree of adaptability.

  • Development Team Shifts: Changes within the development team presented challenges to project continuity and consistency.

  • Outdated Design System: The existing design system was outdated, requiring considerable effort to modernize it.

  • API Limitations: The CareMark API had various data issues (Availability, Formatting, Structure) that made it a challenge for us to display data on our site

Impact

The redesign of the BCBS Pharmacy Experience produced significant positive outcomes:

  • Positive User Sentiment: User surveys indicated a marked improvement in user sentiment and satisfaction.

  • Increased Self-Service Utilization: Pharmacy self-service utilization increased by 25%, demonstrating that users were more capable of independently managing their pharmacy needs.

  • Improved Net Promoter Score (NPS): The Net Promoter Score (NPS) increased by 300%, signifying a substantial enhancement in user loyalty.