Overview

Northwell Health built the Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion at North Shore University Hospital (New York) to provide state-of-the-art surgical care.

Recognizing the complexity of both the site and the patient's surgical journey, they sought to design a mobile app that would support patients before and after surgery, while helping them navigate the hospital for appointments.

The challenge
 

How might we design a mobile experience that simplifies a patient’s complex pre- and post-operative journey and helps them confidently navigate a hospital campus?

 

My role
 

As the UX Researcher, I was responsible for validating the app’s business model and main features through qualitative user research.
 

• Conducted in-depth interviews with recent surgical patients to understand their journey, challenges, and mental models.
   

• Investigated how they scheduled and remembered appointments, understood their care instructions, and experienced the hospital environment.
   

• Validated early app blueprints and helped map user flows alongside the product team.

Key Outcomes

• Identified unmet needs in communication, appointment reminders, and patient navigation.
   

• Revealed usability risks and blind spots in the app’s original assumptions.
   

• Provided strategic guidance for next-phase development.
   

• An in-person research phase was planned but later postponed due to internal changes on the client’s side.