LAUREN THACKER

Manual data entry. Paper forms. Delayed submissions. Healthcare providers were receiving test results hours after collection — if they arrived correctly at all. Every step of the process created friction: unclear instructions confused test takers, handwritten data introduced errors, and nothing was HIPAA-compliant by design.

The real cost? Patient care decisions being made on late, inaccurate data.

I led both the product and UX strategy, designing an end-to-end mobile experience that used AI-powered OCR to read test strip results directly from the cup — no typing, no interpretation errors. The user flow was rebuilt from scratch: scan a QR code, follow guided visual instructions, submit. Three steps. Done.

On the provider side, I designed a real-time dashboard with advanced filtering, audit trail support, and bulk export — everything compliance teams actually need. HIPAA requirements weren't bolted on at the end; they were designed in from day one.

90% of test takers found the app easy to use on first attempt — no training required. Providers reported a 30% drop in errors and immediate time savings on report processing. The beta launched to strong adoption and laid the foundation for future multilingual and multi-cup compatibility.

Dental professionals were submitting cases blind — no confirmation, no tracking, no visibility into where their prosthetics were in production. The lab had zero customer support, and the web application was so confusing that doctors were abandoning it mid-workflow. Relationships were breaking down, and case volume was suffering.

I went on-site to watch the lab operate before touching a single wireframe. What I found was a physical workflow that the digital product completely ignored.

I redesigned the entire case submission flow — doctors can now print RX forms, download shipping supplies, and track prosthetic production in real time, all from one interface. I introduced a customer support system that didn't exist before, and restructured the internal lab workflow so the digital and physical processes actually matched.

The UI was rebuilt with clarity as the only priority: fewer options, cleaner navigation, and a progress tracker that told doctors exactly where their case was at every stage.

Doctors went from frustrated to loyal. Real-time tracking eliminated the anxiety of not knowing where a case stood. The lab reported increased case volume, higher retention, and — for the first time — a customer support channel that actually resolved issues before they became cancellations.

Brighter Health had a fundamental tension: a platform full of valuable health and wellness data, locked behind iframes that made meaningful design changes impossible. The charts were static, the tables were overwhelming, and users were leaving sessions without extracting any actual insight. The client wanted a fresh look — without confusing the users who'd already learned the old one.

I led the product and design strategy to migrate the entire visualization layer away from iframes, rebuilding tables and charts in React with Highcharts. This unlocked full design control for the first time. I restructured the tables to surface critical data upfront — no more scrolling through 40 rows to find the one number that matters — and added interactive tooltips and drill-downs so users could explore data at their own pace.

The visual overhaul was done with extreme care for familiarity: same information architecture, dramatically better execution. Existing users noticed the improvement without feeling lost.

The client reported increased user engagement and positive feedback across their customer base. The migration away from iframes gave the Brighter Health team full control over future feature development — a strategic win that went well beyond the visual redesign. This was a rare project where we delivered both immediate UX wins and long-term technical leverage at the same time.

Casino floors generate enormous amounts of behavioral data — betting patterns, game preferences, session duration, spending habits — and almost none of it was being used to improve the player experience in real time. Screens on slot machines were underutilized. Personalization was nonexistent. Players were invisible the moment they sat down.

The challenge wasn't just UX. It was orchestrating data, hardware, service staff, and privacy compliance into a seamless experience players would actually enjoy.

I led discovery and UX design for a smart card system integrated directly with slot machines. When a player inserts their card, the system begins building a real-time profile — game preferences, betting behavior, F&B selections, location within the casino. The slot screen transforms into a personalized interface: multi-game access, tailored promotions, food and drink ordering, and rewards visibility, all without leaving the machine.

One of the most complex design challenges was movement tracking — players shift machines constantly, and service staff needed to locate them. I designed the location tracking layer in a way that felt invisible to players while giving staff everything they needed to deliver a white-glove experience.

The system is actively in development with expanded AI-driven personalization on the roadmap. Early testing validated the core hypothesis: players engage longer and spend more when their environment feels tailored to them. The next phase includes hotel and entertainment booking integration, and a mobile app that syncs with the smart card for a true omnichannel experience.

In hospice care, every prescription moment is charged with urgency and emotion. Yet physicians were navigating multi-step ordering processes, managing miscommunication between bedside and pharmacy, and working with systems that had no understanding of the clinical or emotional context they operated in. Delays were routine. Errors happened. Patient comfort suffered.

The brief was clear: build something a physician can use in 30 seconds, at a bedside, in a dimly lit room, without training.

I conducted research with hospice physicians, nurses, and pharmacists before touching the interface — understanding not just the workflow pain points, but the emotional weight of the environment. The design had to be calm, clear, and unambiguous under pressure.

The result was a mobile-first prescription ordering system built around three principles: One-tap patient access, AI-assisted medication search prioritized for hospice protocols, and pre-filled order templates based on patient history. Real-time DoseSpot API integration ensured instant pharmacy communication. Color-coded urgency alerts let physicians triage at a glance without interpreting dense UI. The color palette was deliberately soft — designed for dimly lit rooms and cognitive load reduction at the hardest moments of the care journey.

85% of physicians reported faster prescription turnaround at the bedside. 100% valued the pharmacy integration. Medication delivery speed improved directly — which in hospice means better pain management and more dignity for patients in their final days. This is the kind of project that reminds you why getting UX right actually matters.