Real-Time Healthcare Logistics Platform
Designed a multi-device operational platform that improved real-time visibility, specimen validation, and workflow coordination across healthcare logistics workflows using RFID-enabled tracking systems
Overview
Healthcare teams relied on fragmented manual workflows to coordinate specimen movement between locations, creating operational blind spots, delayed validations, and increased risk during time-sensitive handoff processes.
The goal was to design a real-time operational platform that improved workflow visibility, reduced manual coordination, and streamlined specimen tracking across multiple operational roles and devices.
What was the Problem?
Clinical specimens were tracked through fragmented manual workflows, disconnected systems, and paper-based handoff processes. Once specimens left the clinic, teams lacked real-time visibility into their location, status, and chain of custody.
Delayed diagnoses
Specimen tracking failures
High coordination overhead across operational teams
System Complexity
Multiple operational stakeholders with competing priorities
Zero tolerance for errors or ambiguity
Time-critical workflows under pressure
Need for real-time visibility across locations
End-to-End Workflow Ecosystem
Rather than designing isolated interfaces, I focused on the complete operational journey as a connected ecosystem spanning clinic intake, transport validation, lab processing, and real-time monitoring.
A simplified view of the primary sample journey across clinic, transport, and lab.
Core User Journey
How the primary sample flow moves from clinic to lab in practice
A. Clinical Sample Association
Pathologists associate each physical sample with an RFID tag before handoff, ensuring traceability from the very first step of the journey.
Action-based entry point that lets clinic staff begin scanning immediately
Linear scanning flow guides users through sample and RFID association
Clear confirmation and visibility reduce the risk of incorrect associations
Users can associate multiple samples before proceeding to cooler assignment
Why the flow is linear
Why confirmation matters in healthcare
The sample association flow was intentionally designed to be linear. In a time-critical clinical environment, reducing branching decisions helps clinicians move quickly while minimizing the risk of missed or incorrect steps during sample handoff.
Clear confirmation states ensure that each sample is successfully linked to its RFID tag before proceeding. In healthcare workflows, ambiguity at this stage can lead to lost samples, delayed diagnoses, and compliance risks later in the process.
B. Courier Pickup & Exit Validation
Once samples are placed into a cooler, couriers are guided through a controlled pickup and exit validation process to ensure the correct samples leave the clinic.
Couriers select the assigned cooler and verify their identity before initiating pickup.
The system validates courier before allowing to see sample and cooler details.
Clear confirmation ensures only authorized shipments leave the facility.
Why validation is a gate
Why this step matters operationally
Exit validation was designed as a mandatory gate rather than a passive confirmation. This prevents incorrect or incomplete handoffs by ensuring that samples, coolers, and couriers are properly linked before leaving the clinic.
By validating pickup at the point of exit, the system reduces downstream errors that are difficult to detect once samples are in transit.
C. Monitoring & Visibility
Once specimens entered transit, the platform provided real-time operational visibility across both workstation dashboards and shared monitoring displays, enabling teams to anticipate delays, monitor workflow states, and intervene before issues escalated.
Dashboard Experience
Key Design Decisions
Prioritized Operational States
Critical alerts, delayed workflows, and in-transit samples were intentionally surfaced first to help operational teams quickly identify high-risk states and intervene before downstream issues escalated.
Designed for Rapid Scanability
Grouped metrics, clear visual hierarchy, and color-coded statuses helped users interpret workflow health at a glance without needing to review detailed operational logs.
Combined Monitoring with Actionability
The dashboard balanced high-level operational visibility with actionable workflow data, allowing teams to monitor activity, identify bottlenecks, and take action from a single workspace.
Improved Cross-Location Coordination
Real-time shared visibility reduced dependency on manual communication between clinics, couriers, and lab teams, helping operational stakeholders stay aligned across the specimen journey.
Real-Time Tracking Display - TV Experience
Key Design Decisions
Why visibility matters
The TV display was intentionally designed for glanceable operational awareness in shared lab environments, allowing teams to quickly monitor incoming coolers, transit states, and arrival timing without interrupting active workflows.
How this prevents damage or spoilage
Early visibility into arrival timing, delays, and workflow states helped operational teams proactively prepare storage and reduce downstream risks caused by missed handoffs, delayed processing, or prolonged temperature exposure.
Impact of the Platform
Transforming specimen tracking from a fragmented, manual process to a connected operational ecosystem.
BEFORE
Fragmented & Manual
Heavy reliance on calls and messages
Teams spent time chasing updates and clarifying status.
Unclear who is responsible for each specimen.
Limited visibility into ownership
Delayed issue detection
Missing or delayed samples identified too late.
No shared operational visibility
Each team had a different view of the same journey.
The platform transformed fragmented manual coordination into a connected operational ecosystem with shared accountability, faster intervention, and better outcomes for patients.
~ 30%
reduction is specimen handoff errors
2.4x
faster detection of
missing samples
70%
reduction in manual communication
Key Design Learnings
Fast-moving environments require high scanability
The UI prioritized clear hierarchy, simplified actions, and rapid readability to help operational teams process critical information quickly under time-sensitive conditions.
Visibility drives proactive operations
Shared real-time visibility helped operational teams identify delays, missing samples, and workflow risks earlier so they could intervene before issues escalated.
AFTER
Connected & Accountable
Real-time operational visibility
Live tracking across pickup, transit, and lab processing.
Chain of custody tracking
Clear ownership and accountability at every step.
Faster missing sample escalation
Issues detected earlier and actioned proactively.
Reduced manual coordination
Less back-and-forth, more time focused on patient care.
Validation builds operational trust
Clear workflow validation and confirmation states reduced ambiguity during critical handoffs and improved accountability across the specimen journey.
Building a design system
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Building a design system
Consumer Intelligence
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