User research readout
The front desk does not need a better waitlist screen — it needs the waitlist to stop being a decision it makes in public. Coordinators avoid the task for emotional reasons as much as time, which means automation that removes the choice is more welcome than automation that speeds it up. And every participant accepted automation faster when a visible log existed, whether or not they ever read it.
Every participant described their day as a queue of interruptions rather than a sequence of tasks. The phone always wins, because the person in front of them can see them not answering it.
“If the phone rings during check-in, somebody loses.”P7 · Office manager, 6 clinics
“I do not have a morning. I have forty interruptions with gaps.”P2 · Front-desk coordinator
Participants moved between three and six systems per patient interaction. Nobody complained about a specific product; they complained about the seams between them.
“Four tabs to move one appointment. I know all four well. That is not the problem.”P4 · Patient access lead
“I keep a paper list because it is the only thing that survives switching windows.”P11 · Front-desk coordinator
Calling waitlisted patients means delivering good news to one person and nothing to nine others. Three participants said they avoided the task for that reason, not for time.
“You are calling to say yes to one person and ignoring nine who also waited.”P9 · Office manager, 3 clinics
“I would rather leave the slot empty than pick wrong in front of a room.”P3 · Front-desk coordinator
Participants accepted automation faster when they could see what it had done, even when they never checked. Two explicitly said they stopped looking after a week — but needed the log to exist.
“I looked at the list every day for a week. Then I stopped. I still want it there.”P5 · Patient access lead
“If I cannot see what it told the patient, I have to phone them anyway.”P8 · Office manager, 9 clinics
Managers asked for reporting and control; coordinators asked for fewer decisions. Features designed for one group were consistently described as overhead by the other.
“Do not give me another dashboard. Give me eleven fewer phone calls.”P12 · Front-desk coordinator
“I need to know it happened, per site, without asking anyone.”P1 · Regional operations manager
| # | Recommendation | Themes addressed | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ship auto-fill so the offer decision is made by the system, not the coordinator | Interruption load, waitlist avoidance | Large |
| 02 | Keep the per-slot offer trail permanently visible, even after clinics stop reading it | Trust by visibility | Small |
| 03 | Split the interface: coordinators get actions, managers get reporting — never both views | Opposite needs | Medium |
| 04 | Reduce cross-system steps for a reschedule from four tabs to one | Tool-switching | Medium |
| 05 | Write the fairness rule down and show it to patients: “offered in waitlist order” | Picking wrong in public | Small |