Bridging the gaps in addiction treatment. 

Supporting a healthcare startup in the addiction treatment space requires sensitive and inclusive research. It’s important, though, in order to help bridge gaps between in-clinic and at-home treatment.

Takoda was an early-stage SAAS startup where I worked as the sole designer on a small team of substance abuse recovery experts and engineers. I spent many hours in clinics, learning from care teams and patients through both observation and interviews.

Takoda's two offerings included a web dashboard for care teams and a mobile app for patients. Together, the two tools aimed to address one of the major challenges in addiction treatment — how to effectively connect with patients when their most vulnerable. 

Role

UX Designer

Scope

User Interviews
User surveys
Wireframing
User Testing 

Advancing Addiction Recovery

Clinical supervision is a key tool for many in recovery. And yet, 77% don't finish treatment. While clients are supported with therapists and support groups multiple times a week in clinic, they spend the majority of their time in their community without access to support.  In addition, when in clinic, treatment lacks evidence based outcomes. Takoda aimed to support both of these problems by creating software that  offered in-community care and data-driven updates. 

Care Team Web Dashboard
Giving the clinical team timely and actionable data to measure patient progress and treatment efficacy

Building Takoda's Tools

Throughout my time at Takoda, I'd spend 10+ hours a week in clinic. While there, I'd closely observe care teams and clients, gaining valuable insights into their workflows, pain points, and aspirations. I'd also conduct in-depth interviews, with those providing and those receiving addiction treatment, working to understand their needs, desires, and challenges.

This foundational user understanding drove Takoda's product development. It informed not only the product roadmap but the user experience.  I'd also test designs with both therapists and patients at key stages in the building process.  This allowed development to pivot when needed. And pivot we did.

 

Client Mobile App
Offering clients higher engagement by remaining connected with their treatment team at all times

The Outcome  

Takoda’s tools enabled therapists to track recovery progress in real-time, adapt treatment plans to better meet clients’ needs, and share progress insights to boost client motivation. These innovations were designed to address the challenges therapists face when managing large caseloads, offering them a streamlined, data-driven approach to care.

Mike Morrison, Executive Vice President at Preferred Family Healthcare, highlighted the transformative impact of these tools:
"The dashboard is a game-changer for therapists... The technologies developed by Patterson Silver Wolf and his team will revolutionize our treatment industry more than anything I’ve seen in my 30 years in this field."

Care Team Metrics
Measure and review progress of the 4 Vital Signs and consistently make improvements towards Client goals and needs

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