Issio Solutions — 2012
Issio Solutions — 2012
Reinventing the healthcare experience
Reinventing the healthcare experience
Building a mission-critical clinical product from scratch requires deep empathy for fast-paced environments. As the first designer at a healthcare startup, I led the design and initial beta release of an EMR application successfully tested at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek California.
Building a mission-critical clinical product from scratch requires deep empathy for fast-paced environments. As the first designer at a healthcare startup, I led the design and initial beta release of an EMR application successfully tested at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek California.
Role
Role
Lead Product Designer
Lead Product Designer
Tools
Tools
Photoshop, Illustrator
Photoshop, Illustrator
Image 1 — issio solutions 2012.
TL;DR
TL;DR
As the first resident designer at Issio Solutions, I led the end-to-end design, branding, and core design system for an EMR application that replaced chaotic physical whiteboards in hospital operating rooms. Operating in a lean startup environment, I collaborated closely with engineering to ship a functional beta in 6 months—ultimately validating the product in local clinics and scaling adoption across HCA Healthcare’s network of 166 surgical hospitals and 113 surgery centers.
As the first resident designer at Issio Solutions, I led the end-to-end design, branding, and core design system for an EMR application that replaced chaotic physical whiteboards in hospital operating rooms. Operating in a lean startup environment, I collaborated closely with engineering to ship a functional beta in 6 months—ultimately validating the product in local clinics and scaling adoption across HCA Healthcare’s network of 166 surgical hospitals and 113 surgery centers.
Context
Context
The Product: Issio Solutions is an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) application built for iOS and the web, designed to enhance hospital efficiency, patient care, and safety.
The Environment: A lean, agile startup environment operating out of the East Bay. I collaborated closely with 1 Product Manager and 3 Software Engineers, meeting daily and conducting bi-weekly stakeholder reviews.
The Background: Founded by a board-certified anesthesiologist in 2012 around the dawn of the iPad, the startup aimed to digitize chaotic, high-stakes operating room (OR) workflows traditionally managed via physical whiteboards and paper schedules. Later, Issio reached a major agreement with HCA Healthcare to provide solutions for their surgery centers and hospitals.
My Role: As the first and sole resident Product Designer, my objective was to lead all end-to-end design initiatives from the ground up—shaping the product design, brand identity, design language, and marketing materials. After establishing these core foundations, I onboarded and mentored a second designer to help support scaling initiatives as we approached our initial beta release
The Product: Issio Solutions is an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) application built for iOS and the web, designed to enhance hospital efficiency, patient care, and safety.
The Environment: A lean, agile startup environment operating out of the East Bay. I collaborated closely with 1 Product Manager and 3 Software Engineers, meeting daily and conducting bi-weekly stakeholder reviews.
The Background: Founded by a board-certified anesthesiologist in 2012 around the dawn of the iPad, the startup aimed to digitize chaotic, high-stakes operating room (OR) workflows traditionally managed via physical whiteboards and paper schedules. Later, Issio reached a major agreement with HCA Healthcare to provide solutions for their surgery centers and hospitals.
My Role: As the first and sole resident Product Designer, my objective was to lead all end-to-end design initiatives from the ground up—shaping the product design, brand identity, design language, and marketing materials. After establishing these core foundations, I onboarded and mentored a second designer to help support scaling initiatives as we approached our initial beta release
The problem
The problem
The Challenge: Operating room (OR) tracking relied heavily on physical whiteboards and paper print-outs. Schedules were constantly moving, leading to costly errors, poor communication, and dangerous friction for doctors and nurses.
Pain points:
Outdated Information: Physical whiteboards and paper print-outs became rapidly obsolete as surgery schedules changed throughout the day.
Siloed Communication: The whiteboard was only useful to someone standing directly in front of it, preventing on-the-go tracking.
High-Stakes Error Risk: Manual erasing and updating created severe operational friction, costing hospitals time and money while risking patient safety.
The Challenge: Operating room (OR) tracking relied heavily on physical whiteboards and paper print-outs. Schedules were constantly moving, leading to costly errors, poor communication, and dangerous friction for doctors and nurses.
Pain points:
Outdated Information: Physical whiteboards and paper print-outs became rapidly obsolete as surgery schedules changed throughout the day.
Siloed Communication: The whiteboard was only useful to someone standing directly in front of it, preventing on-the-go tracking.
High-Stakes Error Risk: Manual erasing and updating created severe operational friction, costing hospitals time and money while risking patient safety.
A real-world photo of a manually updated Operating Room whiteboard tracking the day's procedure statuses.
“
“
The whiteboard is only useful to someone standing right in front of it.
The whiteboard is only useful to someone standing right in front of it.
— Practicing Anesthesiologist
Strategy & Approach
Strategy & Approach
To design an effective tool for a clinical setting, we first needed to understand the realities of daily hospital workflows. Our team conducted user interviews with doctors and nurses to build deep empathy for their daily routines and prioritize critical product features.
Our primary objective was to ship a functional beta prototype for testing within a strict 6-month timeline. To achieve this aggressive goal, design and engineering worked closely in parallel, maintaining alignment and tracking progress through weekly sprint reviews.
Identifying the Critical Bottleneck: Through our research, we discovered that operating room (OR) management was the highest-friction zone in the hospital. It serves as the primary hub where tracking, coordination, and major surgical operations happen in real-time.
High-Stakes Liability: We learned that surgical tracking mistakes carry massive financial and operational costs—and in critical care, they can literally be a matter of life or death.
The Manual Status Quo: Despite the high-stakes environment, hospital staff were heavily reliant on manual processes: tracking active patient schedules on physical forms, paper print-outs, and updating status boards via manual whiteboard erase-and-write cycles.
To design an effective tool for a clinical setting, we first needed to understand the realities of daily hospital workflows. Our team conducted user interviews with doctors and nurses to build deep empathy for their daily routines and prioritize critical product features.
Our primary objective was to ship a functional beta prototype for testing within a strict 6-month timeline. To achieve this aggressive goal, design and engineering worked closely in parallel, maintaining alignment and tracking progress through weekly sprint reviews.
Identifying the Critical Bottleneck: Through our research, we discovered that operating room (OR) management was the highest-friction zone in the hospital. It serves as the primary hub where tracking, coordination, and major surgical operations happen in real-time.
High-Stakes Liability: We learned that surgical tracking mistakes carry massive financial and operational costs—and in critical care, they can literally be a matter of life or death.
The Manual Status Quo: Despite the high-stakes environment, hospital staff were heavily reliant on manual processes: tracking active patient schedules on physical forms, paper print-outs, and updating status boards via manual whiteboard erase-and-write cycles.
The Solution & Development
The Solution & Development
To solve the friction of high-stakes, manual workflows, we designed a unified Electronic Medical Records (EMR) application tailored for doctors, nurses, administrators, and patients. The platform digitized the entire patient journey—from admission to discharge—across web and mobile devices.
End-to-End Patient Journey: Captured the complete operating room (OR) lifecycle seamlessly, replacing fragmented paper steps with an automated, reliable digital workflow.
Real-Time Multi-Screen Syncing: Enabled instant tracking, management, and viewing of data across multiple displays—including mobile devices, iPads, and hospital tracking boards—ensuring the entire team stays aligned.
Integrated Vitals Monitoring: Allowed medical staff to view and track patient vitals quickly and accurately directly within the application.
Eliminating Manual Whiteboards: Replaced error-prone physical whiteboards and manual erase-and-write cycles with live digital updates accessible from anywhere in the facility.
Paperless Automation & Data Entry: Removed the need for physical forms and manual data entry by automatically capturing and securely saving all information straight into the database.
On-the-Go Mobile Accessibility: Provided doctors and surgical teams with a streamlined mobile experience to monitor, digest, and act on upcoming or current procedures while on the move.
To solve the friction of high-stakes, manual workflows, we designed a unified Electronic Medical Records (EMR) application tailored for doctors, nurses, administrators, and patients. The platform digitized the entire patient journey—from admission to discharge—across web and mobile devices.
End-to-End Patient Journey: Captured the complete operating room (OR) lifecycle seamlessly, replacing fragmented paper steps with an automated, reliable digital workflow.
Real-Time Multi-Screen Syncing: Enabled instant tracking, management, and viewing of data across multiple displays—including mobile devices, iPads, and hospital tracking boards—ensuring the entire team stays aligned.
Integrated Vitals Monitoring: Allowed medical staff to view and track patient vitals quickly and accurately directly within the application.
Eliminating Manual Whiteboards: Replaced error-prone physical whiteboards and manual erase-and-write cycles with live digital updates accessible from anywhere in the facility.
Paperless Automation & Data Entry: Removed the need for physical forms and manual data entry by automatically capturing and securely saving all information straight into the database.
On-the-Go Mobile Accessibility: Provided doctors and surgical teams with a streamlined mobile experience to monitor, digest, and act on upcoming or current procedures while on the move.
Digitizing patient transfers eliminates the need for manual whiteboard updates. Managing these room changes directly within the app ensures greater accuracy, streamlines communication, and increases overall reliability for the medical staff.
The patient details view, displaying their current position in the OR queue alongside key information captured during intake.
The mobile OR experience featuring live status tracking. Delivering real-time data on the go eliminates outdated information and prevents team miscommunication.
Tablet and mobile views of the OR dashboard. This screen enables doctors and nurses to view all patients in the operating room and effortlessly monitor their vital signs.
Tap to view full size
Tap to view full size
The outcome
The outcome
By leading design end-to-end and working in tight alignment with engineering, we delivered a validated product on schedule and unlocked massive enterprise reach:
Speed to Market: Built the platform from scratch and shipped a functional beta prototype for clinical testing within our strict 6-month timeline.
Real-World Clinical Validation: Tested and validated the app in live clinical environments and local Bay Area clinics, receiving strong positive feedback from practicing clinicians.
Enterprise Scale & Adoption: Secured a services agreement with HCA Healthcare, initiating the adoption of our solution across 7 ambulatory surgery centers in their Far West Division. This targeted initial rollout establishes a proven framework with the potential to scale the productivity manager across HCA’s massive international network of 166 hospitals and 113 freestanding surgery centers.
Source: Issio adds HCA as new customer
Source: Issio adds HCA as new customer
KEY IMPACT & SCALE
KEY IMPACT & SCALE
6 Months
6 Months
Concept to shipped beta
Concept to shipped beta
7 Ambulatory Surgery Centers
7 Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Deployed across the HCA Far West Divsion
Deployed across the HCA Far West Divsion
100% Digital Shift
100% Digital Shift
Replaced manual OR whiteboards with real-time multi-device syncing
Replaced manual OR whiteboards with real-time multi-device syncing
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