Designing an At-Home Genomic Testing Service for Cancer Patients
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) wanted to design a free at-home genomic testing service that would seamlessly connect to a patient portal with personalized disease analytics.
Our Challenge
How do you make complex genomic testing accessible and meaningful for cancer patients managing an overwhelming diagnosis?
Our Approach
We conducted comprehensive user research with physicians, patients, and caregivers to understand the real barriers to genomic testing adoption, then designed a service that meets patients where they are in their cancer journey.
Impact
Created a scalable, human-centered service grounded in the real needs of Myeloma patients. 1,016 patients had enrolled in the study as of Oct 2022.
Team
Strategist & Service Designer (me)
Strategy Consultants (2)
Healthcare Facilitator (1)
Clinical Partner Stakeholders (4)
My Role
Lead service designer focusing on patient journey and care coordination
Led and conducted qualitative research across three user groups
Led design of patient journey maps
Designed and led workshops with client
Defined service concepts in collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders
Worked with other designers to prototype the patient portal experience
Research
To ground CureCloud in real-world needs, we conducted in-depth qualitative research with:
18
People with Multiple Myeloma
8
Caregivers of people with MM
8
Doctors who treat MM patients
We developed audience-specific guides and worked with a professional facilitator to ensure interviews were both thoughtful and trauma-informed.
Our goals:
Surface emotional and logistical barriers to participation
Map patient and caregiver decision-making timelines
Identify opportunities for building trust in the new testing service
To synthesize our findings, I led the creation of a detailed Patient Journey Map. This became a shared touchstone across teams and stakeholders — capturing emotional states, system pain points, and key inflection moments across time.
Zoom in to the Figma file get a better look!
✨ from insight to action
Discovery: Two Distinct Patient Archetypes
Our research revealed that patients don't approach genomic testing the same way. We identified two distinct archetypes that required completely different service experiences:
Reactive Patients (Larry): Wait for problems to arise before seeking help. Need high-touch support and clear guidance when they do engage with testing.
Proactive Patients (Pamela): Actively seek information and want to stay ahead of their condition. Prefer self-service options and detailed analytics.
Critical Design Implications
Personalized pathways: Create different service flows for each archetype rather than one-size-fits-all
Flexible support levels: Reactive patients need more hand-holding; Proactive patients want autonomy
Tailored communication: Different messaging and touchpoints based on patient behavior patterns