Arrive
One plain sentence. One Start button.
Case study 05Healthcare records access
Docuracy
A hospital kiosk where someone asks for medical records, one calm question at a time. This is the live design: it plays itself, or take over.
- RoleCreative Director, UX/UI Design Lead
- Year2025
- PlatformHospital kiosk and web
- StatusDesign case study
This is the live product. Click anything to take over.
01The moment
Nobody walks up to a hospital kiosk on a good day.
Priya needs her father’s records. She has a phone and an ID, and the lobby kiosk.
Priya and her father are fictional.
02The gap
The right to your records is clear. Asking for them often is not.
53%
of request forms offered the entire record. All 83 said by phone they could.
¾
of the annual update an eligible hospital can lose for blocking information
Different kinds of evidence from different years, not one survey. Not legal advice.
03The approach
Ask one thing at a time, and say why before you ask.
01
One question per screen.
Easy to read standing up, easy to back out of.
02
Who is asking changes the path.
Patients skip the authorization step. Everyone else gets it.
03
Explain before the camera.
One calm screen, then the ID photo.
04The journey
Four moments. The hard one is the photo.
Explain
Short screens, one decision each, Back always there.
Prove
Prepare them, show the photo back, ask consent unticked.
Done
State the wait. Invite a comment.
A design model of what a requester carries, not measured data. It plays on its own; select a moment to hold it.
05Who is asking
Twelve steps for most people. Eleven for the patient.
06Proving identity
Three small proofs instead of one large one.
Something they hold, something they can open, something they carry. For someone else’s records, a fourth: the document that says they may ask.
A design reading of the rule, which says to verify identity and authority but not how.
07After submit
The kiosk ends at Request. The person waits for the rest.
The screen promises 5 to 7 business days. The legal clock is 30 days, plus one extension.
The on-screen promise and the rule’s 30-day limit. Not any hospital’s actual turnaround.
08How I checked
Five things I read, and what each changed.
The access rule30 days. Same facts, same order, a promise that sits inside it.45 CFR 164.524
The verification ruleCheck identity and authority. It does not say how, so the ID photo and codes are my choice.45 CFR 164.514(h)
How requests work todayPhone answers and paper forms differ, so one flow says what it delivers.JAMA 2018, via Becker’s
Text messagesConsent box starts unticked. Counsel confirms the wording.47 U.S.C. 227
The 17 screensThe rail says “of 12”; Self has 11. I flag it in the critique.
Not done yet: no kiosk test with older adults, no staff interviews, no legal review, no usage data. Not legal advice.
09Brand & system
A calm card over a blurred lobby.
One pale card, one question. Navy moves forward, steel blue goes back.
#C8E3EECard
#2D3C4DNavy. Headings, Next
#7FB0C3Steel blue. Back
#AFD3E2Send Code
Sampled from my design screens. The wordmark is my redraw, not the master logo.
10Judgement
What I’d defend, and what I’d change.
- Defend · one question per screen
- Defend · a preparation screen before the camera
- Defend · consent that starts unticked
Text colours miss WCAG AA.
Subtext 2.51 to 1, white on Back 2.36, placeholders 3.45. Deepened: 5.4, 5.6, 5.5.
Keep labels above the field.
Placeholders vanish when you type.
Make the step count true.
Self has 11 steps, not 12.
Give the photo a way out.
A staff route and a retention note.
Make codes easy to enter.
Paste, autofill and a visible resend.
Test the cheerful tone.
With people who are not cheerful.
Contrast from sampled hex values, WCAG 2.1 formula. Design observations, not legal advice.
11Status
No claims here. Only the design.
No usage or outcome numbers, because I have none to verify.
Design case studyTest first
- Older adults at a real kiosk
- Family requesters with documents
- ID photo failures
- Screen reader and switch users
Measure if it ships
- Completion
- Where people leave
- Staff follow-ups
- Time by relationship
Explain before you ask.
Ask only what this person needs to be asked.
Say how long it takes, and mean it.
Ask for less. Explain more. Then get out of the way.
Sources: 45 CFR 164.524, 164.514, Becker’s on JAMA Netw Open 2018, HHS OCR, ASTP/ONC, 47 U.S.C. 227. Screens are reconstructions I drew for this page, using synthetic data. Not legal advice. WCAG 2.1 AA targeted, keyboard operable demos, motion off under reduced-motion.