Women have specific health needs that are often underserved by existing healthcare systems. Balancing their multifaceted roles in family and professional life, women tend to sideline their overall well-being and self-care. Societal obstacles like unequal power dynamics, limited educational and job opportunities, emphasis on reproductive roles, and familial responsibilities further impede women’s access to quality healthcare. Verbena, an innovative digital care platform, addresses these challenges by providing comprehensive digital care and telemedicine services tailored specifically for women.  

Verbena is a digital care platform for women, fostering seamless connections between patients and their doctors, anytime and anywhere. Through video conferencing, Verbena supplements and complements traditional in-person visits, offering a more personalized and accessible healthcare approach that fits into women’s busy lives. The platform specializes in a wide array of healthcare aspects, from adolescent health to menopausal care, and everything in between, ensuring comprehensive care throughout a woman’s life (from menstruation to menopause). 

Verbena’s suite of services prioritizes patient security and convenience. Its HIPAA-compliant platform ensures secure teleconsultations and safe storage of health data. Patients can easily renew or adjust prescriptions online, review recent results and studies, eliminate unnecessary office visits while still appropriately treating urgent issues, address important health issues with informative consults; in other words taking care of the problem and eliminating the hassle. Under the guidance of qualified doctors, Verbena offers evaluations, assessments, and lab coordination, enabling users to track their health progress and order necessary tests. Additionally, Verbena provides a comprehensive repository of educational resources, empowering women with essential health knowledge. The result is better care for the patient, efficient use of the doctor’s time and reduces waste for the healthcare system, driving down the cost of care. 

Verbena partnered with HITLAB, an impact-first healthcare innovation and technology lab to leverage its extensive expertise in digital health technology evaluation and refine its platform for enhanced user-centricity. HITLAB researchers conducted a comprehensive usability evaluation of Verbena’s patient interface using a combinatorial approach of heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthrough. Heuristic evaluation involved experienced professionals assessing the platform’s design, layout, functionality, navigation, content, and overall user experience. This thorough assessment identified areas where the platform diverged from established user expectations and best practices. Cognitive walkthrough placed researchers in the shoes of typical users, allowing them to identify interaction challenges faced during platform engagement. 

Cognitive walkthrough assessed the platform across three key areas, outlined below.