For $XXM Pharma Retailer
Intro
This engagement exemplified how design can serve as the foundation for business strategy, driving ecosystem engagement and enabling strategic partnerships.
We built an experience that increased engagement in the client’s ecosystem, secured payor partnerships, and leveraged human-centered design to create multi-dimensional value.
5 min read
Overview
Empowering Caregivers with a Mobile Experience to Improve Health Outcomes
With an extensive retail presence and a long-standing relationship between the client and the McKinsey client service team, we helped our client realize they had the opportunity to redefine care—going beyond traditional offerings to support both customers and the caregivers who tirelessly care for them.
Through partnerships with select payors, caregivers and care recipients can access a platform as a covered benefit—eliminating financial barriers and driving adoption among those who need it most. This also increased engagement in our client's digital and in-store ecosystem.
The caregiver research I led for this project unlocked value for multiple stakeholders, including our client, payors, and users (caregivers, care recipients, friends, and family).
What I did
Discovery
Caregiver research and early concept validations
Define & Strategy
Service Blueprinting
Design & Refine
MVP mobile experience
Deliver
Third-party vendor collaboration
Outcomes
Two mobile experiences in Spanish & English
Caregiver app
Care recipient support experience
Increased engagement
2 healthcare payer onboarded
To offer the experience as a covered benefit
Platform ready for 1M+ lives
Helping a retail pharma company shape a value-based caregiver experience—designed to drive better health outcomes—from research to MVP in just 8 months.
With a bold mission to improve health outcomes through better caregiver support, we set out to understand what caregivers actually need—and what minimal yet meaningful interventions could make a difference.
We began with a foundational challenge:
Challenge 1
How might we better understand caregivers to design minimal yet impactful interventions within a mobile experience that drives meaningful health outcomes?
To answer this, we combined deep qualitative research with large-scale quantitative validation. I led the qualitative front—from shaping research goals to conducting in-depth user testing and refining the experience pre-launch. This approach ensured every design decision was grounded in the lived realities of caregivers.
Key questions to tackle on research:
Approach
Caregiver-Centric Product Development: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Needs, Behaviors, and Expectations
We took a mixed-methods approach, partnering closely with an applied behavioral scientist to ensure clinical, behavioral, and emotional insights guided our work end-to-end.
Process wins I led
5+ rounds of iterative qualitative research
From discovery to delivery
10 digital diaries
Revealing the hidden burdens of managing complex medication and care routines
1,000 Survey Responses and Social Media Intent Testing
To validate insights and value propositions
Co-creation and concept testing
With caregivers to ensure usability, relevance, and impact
Initial explorations of platform integration into the client’s ecosystem following concept validation.
Challenge 2
How might we align diverse stakeholders to collaboratively deliver the North Star caregiver vision—navigating complex dynamics like health payers, regulatory frameworks, and sensitive patient data?
In the fragmented landscape of caregiving, caregivers operate across a web of systems—each with its own priorities, constraints, and compliance requirements. From navigating health payer interests to managing regulatory hurdles and data sensitivity, delivering a unified, impactful caregiver experience demanded strategic coordination across multiple players.
Approach
Service Blueprint as a Strategic Alignment Tool
To bridge these complexities, I led the creation of a service blueprint that aligned cross-functional teams around a shared North Star vision. This blueprint mapped caregiver needs alongside the regulatory, operational, and technical enablers required—transforming strategy into clear, actionable pathways for delivery.
Process wins I led
Stakeholder alignment workshops
I facilitated milestone-driven sessions to bring product, legal, compliance, and engineering teams into alignment—clarifying priorities, surfacing constraints, and building a shared understanding of the caregiver journey.
Operational clarity & ownership
The blueprint helped deconstruct the end-to-end experience into actionable steps, define clear ownership, and establish success metrics—ensuring execution remained coordinated and measurable.
Read me first
To maintain client confidentiality, wireframes have been modified by removing logos, identifiable branding elements such as colors, and assigning placeholder names. This content is privileged and intended solely to demonstrate my design expertise. All solutions belong to the client. Unauthorized sharing or distribution is strictly prohibited.
Solution
A warm invite
A personalized thank-you from a healthcare provider acknowledges their efforts, strengthens relationships, builds trust, and encourages continued support, enhancing overall satisfaction and compassion in healthcare.
Caregivers, friends, and family provide vital support to patients but often go unrecognized. Research showed us they are more likely to engage with emails from healthcare providers than retail stores.
“Rocío played a pivotal role as the design voice of the team, ensuring the vision remained centered on caregivers' needs beyond the initial scope. By leading continuous research and testing, she informed both design and business decisions with testable prototypes, successfully driving impact beyond the MVP.”
McKinsey Digital Partner
“Senior Product Manager from the client, praised Rocío’s work, stating that her ‘user research is the best she has ever seen’ and that the final deliverable is ‘a solid communication tool for our tech partners.’
McKinsey Digital Partner
3 Takeaways
01. Addressing Wicked Problems with Systems Thinking and Collaborative Solutions
02. Driving product Development with a Service Design Blueprint
03. Collaborative Co-Creation with Caregivers
01.
Addressing Wicked Problems with Systems Thinking and Collaborative Solutions
Collaboration for
a common goal
Tackling complex, "wicked" problems requires a systems-thinking approach combined with collaborative solutions that bring together diverse stakeholders.
Our approach integrated human-centered design, value-based healthcare, and the unique strengths of our client—such as applied behavioral science and clinical research—to align the needs of patients/customers with those of their payors. This effort aimed to create a user experience that not only supports patients but also unlocks business value with preventative care.
02.
Driving Product Development with a Service Design Blueprint
Service blueprinting
for strategic alignment
I used service blueprinting and caregiver research to align MVP development and shape the user experience from concept to delivery.
By leveraging Service Blueprinting, I ensured cross-functional alignment and clarity throughout the MVP process. This approach helped us translate caregiver insights into actionable design, resulting in a seamless, user-centered experience and guiding efficient, impactful decisions.
03.
Empowering Caregivers through Co-Creation
From research to launch
A peak into the process
What could be next?
Amplifying Health Outcomes with Groundbreaking Applications
To amplify health outcomes through innovative applications, it is essential to integrate cutting-edge technologies with comprehensive user research. Here are possibilities for the future:
AI-powered tools to deliver personalized care strategies and health tips tailored to individual caregiver profiles and caregiving situations.
Real-time assistance features, such as proactive reminders, emergency alerts, and step-by-step guidance for managing complex care tasks.
To unlock this potential, three key research questions emerge:
AI application for hight-impact
What are the key pain points and gaps in the caregiving experience where AI can provide the most value?
Caregiver mental models and protection
How can we design AI-powered tools that build trust with caregivers while ensuring privacy and data security?
Final Thought
By integrating user research with the development of AI-powered solutions, we can create applications that not only improve the daily lives of caregivers but also foster a more sustainable and effective caregiving system. These advancements will ultimately lead to better health outcomes for both caregivers and the individuals in their care.
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