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A healthcare
assistant creating 
personalised
healthcare experiences. 

Keva Health, is a personal health care assistant and helps patients make the best decisions for themselves. It is focussed on care for asthma patients by tracking their regular health and status.

The basic functionalities which were performed by the users using the platform include:

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Tracking Health: The app regularly checks up on the health of the patients and reminds them of the medication prescriptions. Incase of severity, the patient is directed to call the ER directly.  

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Medication & Asthma Action Plan: Since asthma can last for a long time and patients can at times loose track of the medication or the dosage. These features help the patients to keep track of their medications and also the asthma severity. 

 

Tasks to Perform: Here the patient can update any information that is required - Medications list, Doctors prescriptions, tasks to perform, reminers, etc

My Role

This was a freelance project and I worked on it with a colleague of mine. Since the company was based out the USA, we did most of the secondary research. 

Company

Keva Health Pvt. Ltd.
(www.kevahealth.com)

Year

2017

Platform

App (Android, IOs)

Secondary Research
Wireframing
Screen Flows

Visual Design
Interaction Design
 

Skills

Tools

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Research & Insights

Secondary Research

Asthma causes the airways to become inflamed and swollen, reducing the amount of air that can pass in and out of the lungs.

Types of Asthma

Different types of asthma are brought on by many different types of triggers. Some of them are listed below:

Occupational

  • Working with organic compounds, grain and wood dust, soldering flux, latex & animals

  • Employment associated with the highest risk of problems include: those who spray paint, bakers and those who process food, nurses, chemical workers, those who work with animals, welders, hairdressers and timer workers.

Asprin Induced 

Reactions to NSAIDs (Non Inflammatory medications)

Genetic

People with a family history of allergies are more prone to developing asthma

Allergic

Many people with asthma also have allergies. This is called allergic asthma

Childhood Asthma

The majority of the children who develop asthma do so before the age of 05-10 years

Alcohol Induced 

Non Allergic

When Triggers affect Asthma

Different types of triggers that can lead to asthma attacks. 

Environmental

  • Allergens, Air pollution, Environmental Chemicals

  • Smoking during pregnancy & after delivery

  • Low quality air (traffic pollution, high ozone levels)

  • Indoor organic compounds & pesticides

  • Dust mites, cockroaches, animal dander (fragments of fur or feathers), Mold

  • Air Irritants (Smoke, Chemical Fumes, Strong Odors)

  • Strong emotions (Shouting, Crying, Laughing, Panic, Rapid Breathing)

  • Obesity

  • Reaction to asprin

Medical Conditions

Exercise

  • Rapid Breathing, Difficulty in breathing, Shortness of breath

  • Common in professional athletes: cyclists, swimmers & cross-country skiers

Weather Conditions

  • More common when the weather is dry and cold

  • Changes in weather

  • Cold Air

Patterns

  • Early morning or at night, During or after exercise, during certain seasons, after crying or laughing

  • When exposed to common asthma triggers

Asthma Action Plan

Each patient is given the Asthma Action Plan by their Doctor which has instructions they need to follow based on their triggers and severity.

Green: Above 960 (No Symptoms)

  • Use preventative medication 

  • Breathing is good

  • No cough or wheezing

  • Sleeping through the night is good

  • Can work and play easily

Yellow: 600 to 960 (Some Symptoms)

  • Use of preventative medication

  • First signs of cold or cough

  • Mild wheezing and/ or tightness in chest

  • Exposure to known trigger

  • Coughing at night

The user should call the clinical care incase required

Red: Below 600 (Very Bad Symptoms)

  • Danger level medication required

  • Medicines might not help

  • Breathing is fast and hard

  • Trouble speaking

  • In children ribs might show

The user should call the clinical care incase required

The user should call the clinical care incase required

Associated Conditions

A lot of asthma patients may develop other conditions.

Depression & Stress

Asthma can lead to absences from work or school and affect a persons livelihood, education and emotional well-being

GERD 

People with a family history of allergies are more prone to developing asthma

Rhinosinusitis

Many people with asthma also have allergies. This is called allergic asthma

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The majority of the children who develop asthma do so before the age of 05-10 years

These can include - Shouting, crying, laughing, panic or rapid breathing

Strong Emotions

Understanding the user

Keva Health is a consumer based product. Most of the research was done by the co-founders who were also doctors and had great insights into the patient problems. I asked most of the questions to them to gain more understanding about asthma and the patients pain points as well.

How do the patients monitor their health on regular basis?

What is the biggest problems that the patients with asthma face?

How do they react when they get triggered and show symptoms?

Does asthma affect their day-to-day activities and life?

Do patients recognise their triggers?

How often do they visit their doctors for their treatment?

Do a lot of patients show associated conditions?

How do patients deal with asthma mentally?

Does environment heavily act as a trigger?

How often to patients end up in the ER without needing to?

Shown below are four Personas of the user, based on type - Environmental, Genetic and Occupational. From this pain and gain points I discovered which helped to improve the experience and map out the features as well.

Weather reports to inform any change in weather

Reminders/notes to add incase any past information has to be kept in mind

Updated Asthma Action Plan always

Doctors notes and reminders easy to access

Access to various hospitals and clinics in case of emergencies

Understanding the Problem

There were a lot of interesting points which were observed after the interviews and insight mapping. Asthma is a health issue which affected a person for life or for a long time depending on severity. Some of the major pain points focussed on were:

  • Going to the doctor every time the patient is sick can turn out expensive as healthcare is very expensive in the USA. 

  • Asthma can be triggered at any time due to unforeseen circumstances, which makes it difficult to monitor symptoms and peak flow for reporting to the doctor.

  • A lot of patients tend to miss or forget their medicine doses, as they would differ based on their Asthma Action Plan.

  • Getting help at short notice can be difficult at times (vacations, work trips, etc)

  • Asthma can easily be triggered due to environmental changes, which makes changes in weather a very important pain point.

Areas of Improvement

Identifying Design Requirements

Based on interviews and business requirements, basic design and tech requirements were identified. These were then segregated so that it would give a direction during the designing and ideation.

Clean & easy to understand interfaces 

Easy help whenever required

Personal assistant for personalised care

Recording progress and changes easily

Keeping medical records at hand so can easily be referenced

Ideation

Final Designs

After working on the wireframes, final screens were worked created. These were designed keeping in mind the requirements of the users and regularly taking feedback from the clients. 

Testing & Release

How testing impacted design.

The product was tested out with the targeted users on various parameters for functionality and feasibility. Some of the points that emerged during the testing were:

  • A lot of people found the personal assistant interaction very engaging. It was easy to understand and enter information.

  • The products other features like reminders, tasks, etc were also impactful as remembering which medication to take in case of emergencies could be a big pain point. 

  • Network of hospitals and clinics had to be rich and widespread as that is what would help the patients in case of emergency.

  • Weather feature was appreciated a lot as that was something that created maximum triggers for people. 

Success of the product

The product was launched in 2018 and since there some of the numbers to appreciate it's success are mentioned below.

4.8+

Rating of Google
& iOS Store

1k+

Downloads

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kevahealth
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1436565612
Website: https://www.kevahealth.com/patients/

What Next?

Integration with clinics and hospitals for best and quick help as and when required.

My Takeaways

This was a very interesting and had its own unique challenges. Some of my key takeaways were:

  • Since I don't know anyone personally affected by Asthma, I needed to do my personal research regarding how the patients react to the problem and how they lead their daily lives.

  • The healthcare system in the USA is very different as compared to India. It was very important to understand the related pain points to create an app for the asthma patients.

  • It was important to track the patients health on a regular basis in order to understand clearly what all reasons could be the triggers for him/her.

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