UX CASE STUDY
CVS Health
Smoking Cessation
Time Frame - Five 2-week sprints (Sept. - Nov.)
Role - XD Designer
Collaboration - XD Designer (Dan Staton), research (Laura Paradis), accessibility (Charles Hall), content designer (Mitch Krpata), engineering, development, product
OVERVIEW
CVS Smoking Cessation is a 0-to-1, end-to-end responsive web scheduling 6-month pilot program launched in Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee. This program helps patients finally quick smoking cigarettes and vapes with the help of their trusted CVS pharmacist.
ROLE
Design 0-to-1 end-to-end responsive web scheduling flows
Collaborated with A11Y, Research, Content, Product and Engineering
Process involved extensive user testing, wireframing and prototyping
Presented solutions and deliverables to leadership and stakeholders
PROBLEM
We needed to change the perception of how patients who smoke view the CVS Pharmacy Smoking Cessation program, especially those who have tried to quit before and failed.
Smokers understand the harms of smoking but need to be motivated by the possibility of returning to the things they love and living the life they want. We want them to know that CVS prioritizes patient health over profit.
Additionally, we collaborated with our legal team to review over 60 questions, streamlining the registration process for clarity and reducing redundancy.
Program requirements
Available in Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee only
Not available to users with Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid or any government or state funded insurance
Must be 18 years of age
Must have US address
Program is $39 (not including any prescribed RX)
USER TESTING
Shifting the focus to "getting back to the things you loved" resonated more with users than focusing on money and health
We conducted multiple rounds of testing to assess comprehension of the program, including:User thoughts on the program
Expectations
In-store vs. online registration
Experiences and strategies in quitting
Headlines and overall information
FOSTERING TRUST WITH FACTS
Including pharmacists' credentials addressed concerns about their ability to write prescriptions. When combined with the fact that CVS stopped selling cigarettes in 2014, this transformed skepticism into trust.
DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Users felt hopeful seeing how their health could improve after quitting within a specific time frame, which surprised them. They appreciated that the landing page had no cigarette images or triggering photos, unlike other smoking cessation websites.
Feedback guided us on how to transform the page from a rigid list of requirements to creating new structures and designs that allowed for trust building and informational opportunities that encourage users to not only engage with the program, but stay motivated to complete it.
WIREFRAMING
The evolution
Earlier wireframes focused on structure and program information. As we learned more about user experiences and expectations, we enhanced the content and adjusted the rest of the page accordingly. Our goal was to create an uplifting page that emphasizes the positives of quitting rather than the challenges they have endured from smoking.
USER FLOW
Online or in-store program participation
After registering online and meeting eligibility, users must attend follow-up visits to stay in the program. All in-person consultations must occur at the pharmacy where registered.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE & REGISTRATION QUESTIONS
Extensive discussions with the legal team resulted in splitting the lengthy registration questionnaire into three digestible intake forms
“Tell Us About Yourself”: Demographics, patient info, and primary care provider contact.“Tell Us About Your Quit Goals”: Goals, smoking history, and related questions.“Let’s Complete Your Registration”: Consents, payment, and acknowledgments.
We implemented an organized system to categorize questions by state, as some states allowed terms like cigarettes, vape, and nicotine while others did not. This streamlined the process for both designers and developers.
DESIGN DUEL
A/B Testing
User preference and understanding
Displaying Page X of X
Updating button language to be more descriptive
Having a registration home page outlining the sign-up process
Adding visuals and colors
Outlining top of page with visuals and next steps
ORIGINAL DESIGN
UPDATED DESIGN
DESIGN ITERATION FEEDBACK
Version 2 aligned with user preferences and expectations
User liked the page x of x, because they could see how much progress they made and could determine how much effort it would take them to finish registration.
Users preferred the descriptive buttons over the registration home page and the outlined top section, which helped them easily recall what to expect next, as it was the last thing they saw.
Users responded positively to the colors and visuals.
BUTTON CONTENT
Descriptive buttons set clear expectations for users about what was coming next
Users struggled to recall the next steps with an intro page or instructions at the top. Placing it at the end helped set expectations and clarify the time needed to complete registration.
Final screens
Launch & next steps
We successfully rolled out the CVS Pharmacy Smoking Cessation pilot program in Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee, with plans to expand to additional states. As we launched the MVP on a tight timeline, we also began designing an enhanced user experience, giving users greater autonomy in rescheduling, canceling and making their own appointments.
This program marked the beginning of more pharmacy-related service projects.
Dan Staton, UX Designer