Providence Genomics

Platform and Website Design + Development

How a solution goes from a beta test to a sustainable product

Background

Part of the Providence healthcare system, Providence Genomics builds cutting-edge programs including prevention, early detection, and therapeutic programs. Providence Genomics is growing quickly, and all efforts are intended to improve patient care using genomics.

Clinical research has complex resource and staffing requirements to support patient recruitment, education, and consent. Traditionally, a study coordinator guides each patient through a potentially complicated informed consent document and answers questions, before obtaining consent to enroll them in the clinical study. Motivated in part by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Providence Genomics leadership set goals to transfer much of the manual education effort from study coordinators to online content, including recruitment, study descriptions, details about risks and benefits of study participation, actions needed from study participants, and information about the study experience.

Providence owned a technology platform that had been adapted for participant e-consent by affiliated Institute for Systems Biology (ISB). When the COVID pandemic hit, Providence urgently needed to manage e-consent for patient studies while minimizing potential exposures for study staff. Providence and ISB turned to this platform to recruit for several large COVID-19 studies. Following the successful execution of these studies, Providence Genomics recognized an opportunity for the platform to improve processes for several large precision genomics studies that were in the planning stages.

Working together, Providence, ISB, and Genomics teams expanded the platform’s capabilities beyond the COVID-19 study features. These collaborations made the platform more sophisticated, robust, and feature-rich. It was successfully deployed in two ongoing studies (Geno4ME and Galleri), which are lengthy, multi-year studies that engage thousands of patients.

Based on this success, Providence made the decision to further develop the platform for broader use within Genomics, rebranding it as Propel.

“It’s gratifying that other teams looked at what we created through innovative collaborations between developers, designers, and subject matter experts, and saw the value in it. They recognize that Propel meets a need that nothing else meets.”
Andrew Magis, PhD, Director of Data Science at ISB

The Challenge

The enterprise version of the product’s design needed to make it easy for patients, participants, and researchers to engage in research programs. The technical solution needed to be scalable for use by external partners and customers, and it needed to be sustainable so the number of engaged patients accessing genomic data within Providence could be expanded.

The platform needed significant changes to be marketed to new teams internally and externally. Focus areas included security, compliance, and features to ensure the product could support a broad range of use cases. The Genomics team also had to shift its mindset from meeting the needs of specific users to delighting and exceeding expectations of a broader group of customers.

The Solution

Providence needed a technology partner that could understand the strategy and translate it quickly into a working product. Further, Propel needed a brand identity that could introduce the solution and test its story. Kopius* was selected to help Providence transform Propel into a scalable product by introducing engineering capacity, including specialized design and technology skills to the “in flight” solution.

Kopius rapidly rounded out the engineering, design, content, and project management capabilities of the Propel team, and collaborated with Providence and ISB’s technical teams to build the scalable Propel SaaS product and website. Valance capabilities included product ownership, data visualization, and quality assurance.

Kopius provided a nearshore team with UX/UI design, quality assurance, data visualization, product management and strategy, and project management nearshore capabilities based in the US, and top engineering talent based in Latin America.

Kopius cost-effectively focused on deliverables and building the platform’s capabilities. By engaging Kopius, the Propel product could be developed without competing with internal initiatives that could pull the Providence engineering team in different directions. This was critical because the timeline to meet customer needs was tight and could not tolerate being reprioritized behind other internal initiatives.

The Propel platform is a complex technology stack based on multiple microservices and integrations that support a rich set of features. Shortly after onboarding, the Kopius team started designing and implementing a single-sign-on (SSO) capability across critical microservices, identity management tools, and study management tools.

“The Kopius Project Manager was incredibly helpful in helping us bridge the gap with new users. He brought a rigor of process, and I could rely on him to meet timelines, listen and understand requirements, and deliver results.”
Jon Clemens, Director of Programs, Providence Genomics

Results

Kopius’ involvement enabled the Providence and ISB teams to shift from a “start-up” mindset to sustainable, best practices following a continuous integration and deployment model.

With Kopius’ support, Providence Genomics was able to deliver: an enterprise software product and a set of websites that educate patients through dynamic media-rich content about available studies based on eligibility criteria; a platform able to manage patient identities, enrollment, and electronic consent in accordance with Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocols; and functionality for researchers to track and engage with patients, collect data, and return results.

“The genomics industry is highly innovative- and this project required a true collaboration of exceptional talent. No one is naïve enough to think that one org has all the answers. We worked together to lay out a plan and we’re continuing to collaborate with Kopius to meet the needs of this dynamic industry,”
Cheryl Isen, Head of Marketing, Providence Genomics

*Work was performed under the previous business name, Valence

Fortune 1000 Healthcare Company

Data Strategy, Web Application, and Recommendation Engine

Challenge

Hospital administrators and staff are under intense pressure to optimize performance within facilities while delivering best-in-class care to patients. This highly regulated industry has an abundance of data, but it’s often collected and managed in disparate systems by people with ranging levels of proficiency.

One opportunity to improve hospital efficiency is to optimize the scheduling of operating rooms, surgical procedures, and services.

We were approached by an advanced SaaS-based healthcare data analytics company that needed to use existing data feeds to improve the scheduling of operations for a hospital that used its systems. Because of the sensitive nature of EHR data, security was a priority.

Solution

Kopius delivered a web application including a scheduling recommendation engine. On the back-end, the web application relied on a Paas-based solution that analyzed trends using artificial intelligence.

First, we transformed and normalized the hospital’s robust pipeline of raw and structured EHR data. Using that data, we developed a recommendation engine that prompts hospital staff to take actions based on key data indicators.

Then we designed and developed a custom web-app to present and manipulate data, including the scheduling recommendations.

Results

The solution provided hospital staff with a decision support tool capable of improving room scheduling and revealed trends and opportunities for efficiency over time. These improvements resulted in improved patient care and hospital efficiency.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

Healthcare Non-Profit

Clinical Trials Healthcare Research Accelerator

Background

Our client is a national not-for-profit healthcare system committed to improving the health of all people. The system includes hospitals, clinics, and a comprehensive range of services.

Among its services, the client’s organization offered a web portal where donors, patients, providers, and research scientists could look for clinical trials to improve patient health outcomes, called the Healthcare Research Accelerator.

The Healthcare Research Accelerator is a special project because it is used by doctors across the globe who are working with patients who are out of options. These doctors want to help their patients, and they have to be creative, so they seek out the latest trials in hopes they can enroll their patients and get them access to promising therapies. These doctors are often under a lot of pressure when they come to this tool, and they need a tool that is easy to use.

Challenge

The original search tool was designed and developed long ago by in-house resources, and because of considerable gaps in functionality and usability, platform support was going to end. Further, the design and development team that had originated the portal had disbanded and there was no documentation about its architecture or functionality. Our client needed to replace the Healthcare Research Accelerator with a new solution for this critical service.

The accelerator is incredibly important, but the search function had coding flaws and had reached a point where patients and providers didn’t like or trust the tool – because our client’s organization is on a mission to improve patient outcomes, it was urgent that we deliver a better way to connect people with clinical trial information.

Solution

Thanks to our significant experience working with this client on other digital projects, Kopius* had gained the client’s trust and was engaged to re-platform the clinical trials Healthcare Research Accelerator tool. Services included user experience design, user interface design, engineering, quality assurance, and deployment support.

Because of the loss of user confidence, change management practices were woven into our approach. From discovery to user experience design, and through user acceptance testing, we engaged a variety of users and provided visibility into our thinking and process. This rebuilt trust in the tool’s potential and helped to improve market sentiment.

“If you want a deployment to be adopted, you must invest time and energy in communication and collaboration with your users. The change management plan needs to address stakeholder communication and internal business processes.”
Glen Lewis, Kopius technical project manager

One of the first stages of the effort was to reverse engineer the structure of the previous iteration of the platform to identify data sources and reveal the cause of the failed search results. We conducted a four-week assessment to document how the platform was built.

Understanding why the previous platform was failing was an important step in rebuilding trust among users that this new iteration would perform as expected.

The assessment unearthed that the previous platform relied on a search function in what amounts to a continuous document. Kopius engineers built a new database according to industry best practices, which is more flexible and can scale and be managed over time.

Our data team also built custom logic for the clinical trial searches to address the unique and specific needs of users. The updated search function uses criteria to return highly relevant results without requiring an exact string of words.

We simplified the XML ingestion process by reducing and consolidating a three-step process that moved data across multiple servers to a single drag-and-drop interface.

The User Acceptance Testing period (UAT) included additional time and resources to engage users and build trust in the new tool. We prepared users for the UAT by explaining what they should expect and how we expect the tool to work before they tested it. The UAT process was divided into three testing events, and each event was followed by a detailed review of issues identified, including what happened, why it happened, and how it would be fixed, further building trust in the system.

Upon completion, we provided comprehensive and detailed documentation of the new platform and how it is built so it can be referenced, integrated, and updated more easily in the future.

Results

The new Healthcare Research Accelerator tool is easy to use, and users are excited to use it. The database has also become the primary source for clinical trial information across client websites. The design was seamless with the client’s updated brand strategy, and the platform nested within the larger brand strategy perfectly.

Through our collaborative process and open communication, we won over users who were skeptical that our project was merely to re-skin a dysfunctional tool.

Kopius’ efforts to build elegant mapping logic will help doctors and patients easily find the trials they need, which will hopefully enable patients to overcome their sickness and feel better.

“This project was not easy. You handled our requests with grace and with integrity, and we’re so thankful to you for this hard work.”
Client Project Director

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

Leading Orthodontics Startup

Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision

The intersection of healthcare, dentistry, and orthodontics with technology has revolutionized to the personal wellness industry. The direct-to-consumer orthodontics industry has been particularly transformed thanks to a convergence of digital advancements. Teledentistry uses electronic information, imaging, and communication technologies to provide and support dental care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, and treatment.

Challenge

A leading consumer-facing orthodontics disruptor needed to harness technology to deliver exciting, delightful experiences to engage and convert potential customers.

Kopius* was engaged to design and develop a pilot marketing experience that would help potential customers to envision their smile after receiving treatment. Kopius’ experience in digital retail experiences made the firm uniquely positioned to address this business need.

Solution

Kopius designed and built a mobile application that allows customers to See Their New Selfie to anticipate what was possible through teledentistry. The experience included options to share their future selfie to expand the brand’s reach.

The services to deliver this highly personalized and technology-driven experience included web application design and development, and computer vision with artificial intelligence application development. Technologies included Amazon Web Services (AWS) Lambda, API Gateway, and S3.

Results

The pilot informed the startup’s digital roadmap and received high marks from test users.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

B2B Healthcare Data and Research Company

Digital Brand and Website Development

The healthcare industry is in a transformative period, with leading organizations gaining a competitive edge through M&A activity and technology investments. Each merger is accompanied by a fast-paced initiative to align brands, communicate competitive advantages, and increase market share.

Challenge

A large non-profit healthcare system had purchased a next-generation B2B data and research company, which needed its digital identity to be updated and aligned to its new ownership’s brand. Due to the complexity of the services and organizational structure, it was critical to get the message and strategy right.

The client also did not have a website to reflect its new organization and present its story to the market.

The Solution

Kopius* was chosen to deliver a brand guideline and messaging strategy. The scope of services included a visual brand guideline, web interface designs, a messaging strategy, a content calendar, and supporting collateral templates. Kopius was also tasked with the design and development of a new corporate website.

Kopius started with brand and identity exercises that would inform the visual design for the acquired business unit. Partnering with the in-house marketing and communications teams ensured that the visual concepts were in harmony with the values and goals established for the company.

Those exercises resulted in mood boards that became the foundation for decisions regarding the visual identity and digital style guide.

The design team then provided design concepts that were translated into specific deliverables, managed by our internal project managers to ensure maximum efficiency and quality output with minimal pressure on the client’s internal teams.

As the mood boards and design concepts took shape, the Kopius design team collected brand requirements into a style guide. The style guide included logo treatments, color palettes, font treatments, design requirements for web pages and collateral, presentation templates, and guidance for the tone of voice and communication.

Simultaneously, Kopius designed, developed, launched, and populated a new SEO-friendly corporate website, built using a flexible content management system so the client could manage updates and take ownership of content as it evolved. The website emphasized partnership opportunities and was up and running on the day of the business’s launch at a large health conference, which the business sponsored.

Results

The refreshed brand communicates professional capabilities, tells the B2B business’s story, and breaks its complex solutions into easy-to-understand concepts. The client was empowered to establish itself in the market and quickly get busy growing its market share.

The website is the foundation of the company’s digital marketing strategy and supports communication, lead generation, and sales engagement efforts.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

Healthcare Startup

Website Design and Development

This healthcare technology startup was established in 2020 and has an ambitious goal of transforming the healthcare industry by accelerating technological, clinical, and operational advances.

The company was preparing to launch at a major healthcare industry event, and needed to declare itself as an important brand in the industry’s tech sector. It is imperative for a technology brand to have a top-notch digital presence.

Challenge

The timing between the company forming and this industry event was tight. This client had to quickly develop its key message and brand platform while designing and developing its website.

The Solution

Kopius* was engaged to design and build the website, working closely with the marketing and branding teams to craft a user experience and content strategy that told the company’s story and delivered an excellent user experience.

Thanks to the firm’s background in healthcare combined with its industry-leading staff of designers and developers, Kopius was able to move quickly. The effort began with low- and high-fidelity wireframes, and included a digital style guide that addressed voice principles, color palettes, typography, photography, and digital styling elements.

The website was published and bug-free in time for the event and the company’s launch. Technologies used include WordPress, Gutenberg blocks, CI/CD pipeline for code, and Docker with build scripts.

Results

The website design showed brand maturity and leadership, and the site structure attracted partners and customers to the client’s powerful message about transforming healthcare with technology.

Our client used press momentum and marquee sponsorship of the large health conference to drive traffic to the website, and to capture interest from prospective customers and industry contacts.

In the first 4 weeks, the website had 3,879 Sessions and 9,445 page views.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

Innovation Lab

Voice Assistant

At Kopius*, we help enterprise customers understand and apply next-generation technologies in a smart and innovative way to advance business goals. We often experiment with these technologies within our own business, testing and tweaking how we design, develop, and deploy innovation. It often begins by identifying a simple challenge.

Challenge

Tracking down operational information within a company can be difficult. Whether an employee has questions about benefits, healthcare, or IT-related issues, they often spend valuable time searching through handbooks, emails, and websites to find answers.

Solution

Our innovation lab scoped this issue and created the Kopius Bot.

The Kopius Bot is a voice-activated chatbot that uses Amazon Alexa to answer common employee questions and handle requests related to the company.

The Kopius Bot was built on top of the core framework of Amazon Web Service Machine Learning using the Lex engine. After adding functionality and integration points to this framework, the Kopius Bot is bundled into an Alexa private skill and deployed to employees using Alexa for Business.

Results

The Kopius Bot eliminates the hassle of unnecessary maintenance tasks by providing employees instant access to information from anywhere using Alexa. Employees can now devote their time and energy to tasks that matter. Operational information, such as employee benefits, shipping information, and expense reimbursements are handled with Kopius Bot. Tasks that took up internal overhead can also be addressed, such as resolving IT requests or ordering routine office supplies and equipment.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.

Innovation Lab

Voice & Chat with Natural Language Processing

Challenge

After conducting research and interviews with our clients in healthcare, we identified an opportunity to address an operational bottleneck resulting from patient confusion around treatment and appointment information.

In healthcare settings, patients are often responsible for managing their own care plan. This can include being accountable for understanding their health or diagnosis, navigating healthcare systems to identify specialists, and scheduling their own care. Because of the variables and their novice understanding of the healthcare system, time is lost to scheduling errors and misunderstandings about process and providers.

The Solution

Our innovation lab had previously experimented with voice and chat frameworks for other client projects. We decided to use those frameworks as the foundation for a voice and chat enabled personal assistant that could use artificial intelligence to support patients as they navigate their care.

The goals were to provide patients with a personalized experience, providing assistance specific to their care throughout the full lifecycle of an appointment. Features included driving directions, reminders, custom Q&A, and follow–up information.

We extended our voice and chat framework with a domain-specific natural language processor and symptom diagnosis engine.

Results

The proof of concept proved effective in supporting patients quickly. The framework was tested to carry out diagnoses on 520 unique patients. Based on keyboard inputs, the engine took an average of 41 seconds to give an accurate result. Voice inputs also resulted in an impressive 53-second average time to a correct answer.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.