Practice Fusion
Jun 2026
Patient Encounter
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.overview
Making the Patient Encounter easier to use during a visit
The Encounter is an integral feature of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) product that helps healthcare providers record their interaction with a patient with the purpose of providing healthcare services. The Encounter is comprised of the SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, and plan) framework that enables providers to assess complex patients with multiple problems in an organized way.
.my role
I was the lead designer responsible for driving this initiative to develop a vision and end-to end experience for the Encounter note. I worked alongside User research, Engineering, Program management, Education, and Customer Support and owned the interaction design and final delivery of the Encounter design, while co-owning research.
.impact
25%
Users creating new Encounters with new design
After the first 30 days after release, the redesigned Encounter had 12% of users with the new design enabled. We anticipated a slower adoption as our providers are adverse to major UI changes especially as providers are balancing these changes while actively seeing patients. As of 3 months after release, we're seeing 25% of users creating new Encounters with the new design enabled.
I appreciate the new layout of the screen and separations of the different Encounter sections. With the above mentioned in mind, the flow is much better in my opinion, making it easier to access the sections I need to do my portion of the charting information.
Interview participant
Practice Fusion Provider
I really appreciate the clean look of the new encounter. I like that the PMH is available in the summary panel. Furthermore, I also like the ease of entering information into SOAP note.
Interview participant
Practice Fusion Provider
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.problem
Providers struggle to efficiently review and input patient data with the current design
Providers need to review and input patient data in an organized, efficient flow during the patient visit, however, the Encounter format makes it difficult to work through the note in an streamlined, logical manner, adding more time on tasks and frustration causing providers to rely on their memory and input data after the visit.
Initial Encounter design
Issue 01
Information architecture doesn't align with user expectations
The flow of sections did not match how providers ideally go through a visit causing users to scroll back and forth. Users have had to adapt their process to the way we designed the Encounter rather than the way that feels most natural in a patient visit.
Issue 02
Historical data vs. New inputs
Providers found it difficult to parce historical patient data from past Encounters while simultaneously inputting new notes during the visit. Presenting historical data also contributed to a long scrolling page.
Issue 03
Data density issues
The long Encounter note presented legibility and discoverability issues, making it difficult for providers to digest the data and requiring them to scroll back and forth to find the right information.
Issue 04
Inconsistent interaction patterns
The Encounter sections had different interaction patterns, creating a disjointed and jarring experience that broke user focus. Some sections would open detail panes, modals, or a new tab, taking several clicks to input data.
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.designs
Redesigning the Patient Encounter Note
We conducted 3 rounds of user testing, iterating after every round based on feedback. I redesigned the Encounter note to address our providers most pressing pain points with the current design.
01
Improved framework
Encounter framework matches clinical workflows by grouping sections and relocating reference data to side panel.
02
Reference vs input
Collapsible side panel housing reference data enables providers to seamlessly switch between reference and input.
03
Direct data entry
Direct input into SOAP sections unlocks efficiency, reduces clicks, creates a consistent experience between sections.
04
Card layout
Improves visual sectioning of the SOAP note, data density, and enables responsive design of Encounter note.
Before & after
The redesign focused on improving provider workflow through the SOAP sections, strengthening visual hierarchy and interactions, and surfacing reference data easily when needed during the visit.
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.key decisions
30 research participants
Providers, nurses, and medical assistants
3 rounds of research sessions
Generative interviews and usability testing
Research played a critical role in this project. The Encounter is the most utilized feature in the EHR and required thoughtful consideration and validation with providers.
Testing SOAP layouts
We engaged 9 practices to conduct usability testing for three layouts. We found that overall, participants were able to navigate through the new designs unprompted with mentions of being more organized and easier to read. We didn’t get a clear indicator on the preferred layout between between the stacked and 2 column layout. Accounting for total changes for the Encounter and being mindful that our providers aversion to change, I decided to descope the 2 column layout and moved forward with the Stacked layout as a more conservative design.
Stacked layout features SOAP sections stacked helping providers through a linear flow
Focused layout features expand/collapse sections helping providers focus one section at a time
2 column layout features SOAP sections viewable together helping providers get a high level view of the visit and reference between sections as they input
Allow opt-in for new UI
Research showed providers were very resistant to change. Change from their perspective is disruptive to their day to day, adding more time on tasks. Knowing this, I advocated for beta testing, opt-in switch, and feedback survey for providers to enable the new Encounter experience at their own time and submit feedback. I felt it was important to have users opt-in to the new experience rather than releasing the new updates outright for a more controlled release to anticipate any bugs or major issues with the new design. As I mentioned the Encounter is a high touch feature with lots of risks and used every day by practices. Providers don’t have luxury of time to try new UI during their day while they’re seeing patients, it can disrupt the flow and the critical focus is to serve their patients.
Opt-in switch and survey
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.lessons
UI updates to critical features require opt-in
This project was a first opportunity for the company to implement an opt-in switch as well as beta-testing to ensure these improvements met user expectations. We learn the most about the varied ways providers accomplish tasks and their workflows after release. Taking time to review mixpanel data and tracking bugs, listening to user complaints that come through, these are all steps to continuously learn and strategize how to further improve post release. This project was an important exercise in laying down a foundation to set the team up for success and breaking down large projects to make strategic informed decisions that build off each other.
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