Hannah Campbell | Product designer

BANNER HEALTH

Eliminating dead ends in scheduling

Banner Health's self-scheduling experience begins with selecting a provider and, in certain cases, business rules for new patient visits created a dead end preventing patients from scheduling an appointment they had clearly intended to schedule digitally.

I was the lead designer on this enhancement which reframed the failure state into a guided path forward, helping patients find available care without restarting or calling to schedule.

THE PROBLEM

App usage data showed a significant drop-off early in the scheduling flow, consistently occurring with providers who limited new patient eligibility. Because increasing self-scheduling adoption was a key business goal, this drop-off represented a high-impact opportunity to improve the experience.

Images of two screens, one desktop and one mobile, showing the dead-end message the patient hits when trying to schedule.

"I wanted to do it online
but it said to call."
‍
-Banner Health patient,
about self-scheduling

Flow chart and data showing the patient experience and provider availability

PROCESS

LISTEN

Conversations with patients confirmed what we also saw in feedback forms: most often, location is the most important factor in scheduling, especially for new patients.

UNDERSTAND

I spoke with clinic managers to understand existing workflows, constraints, and operational considerations.

Conversations with clinic managers about exisiting workflows and constraints revealed opportunities to match new patients with available providers without disrupting processes.

TEST

Working alongside a frontend developer, we confirmed available data points needed to surface alternate providers and correct appointment slots – ensuring the solution was technically viable before committing to the design direction.

How might we remove barriers to self-scheduling a new patient appointment?

THE SOLUTION

I reframed the failure state into a decision point. My approach emphasized:

Preserving user momentum rather than forcing a restart
Making system constraints clear but not burdensome
Supporting the broader goal of digital self-service adoption

‍

When a patient cannot schedule with their chosen provider, the experience now:

Explains why the appointment can’t be scheduled
Presents a list of available alternate providers at the same location
Allows patients to continue scheduling without restarting or calling

‍

A dead end was transformed into a guided path forward, helping patients complete their task while respecting real-world availability constraints.

Three phone mock-ups showing the enhanced experience of scheduling with a new provider.

IMPACT

This enhancement targets the beginning of the scheduling flow — the earliest point where patients could hit a dead end and abandon. By catching that moment and offering a path forward, more patients stay in the flow rather than dropping off or resorting to a phone call.

The result is an experience that preserves patient momentum at a critical juncture while directly supporting Banner Health's goal of increasing digital self-scheduling adoption.