UCD x The Coombe Hospital
Mobile Application
Maternal Cardiovascular
Care Platform
introduction
Closing the communication gap in cardiovascular care for women in Ireland after high-risk pregnancies
Closing the communication gap in cardiovascular care for women in Ireland after high-risk pregnancies
role
Product Designer - Team of four MSc HCI students at UCD, in partnership with The Coombe Hospital
Product Designer - Team of four MSc HCI students at UCD, in partnership with The Coombe Hospital
Context
Women in Ireland who experience complications like pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes carry a lifelong increased cardiovascular risk, but that risk often gets lost between hospital discharge and long-term follow-up. The HSE already runs a Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) offering these women free annual health follow-ups through their General Practitioner (GP), but most women never find out they're eligible.
Women in Ireland who experience complications like pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes carry a lifelong increased cardiovascular risk, but that risk often gets lost between hospital discharge and long-term follow-up. The HSE already runs a Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) offering these women free annual health follow-ups through their General Practitioner (GP), but most women never find out they're eligible.
Problem
Most women leave hospital in Ireland unaware that their cardiovascular risk lasts 30 to 40 years after a complicated pregnancy, not just the months right after. Maternity staff hold that information, but it doesn't always reach GPs clearly, so she's never enrolled in the CDMP, even when she's eligible. Her medical data stays scattered across systems, leaving her with little ownership over her own health history.
Most women leave hospital in Ireland unaware that their cardiovascular risk lasts 30 to 40 years after a complicated pregnancy, not just the months right after. Maternity staff hold that information, but it doesn't always reach GPs clearly, so she's never enrolled in the CDMP, even when she's eligible. Her medical data stays scattered across systems, leaving her with little ownership over her own health history.
What i did
I worked across all stages of the project, from initial research and ideation to the co-design workshop and final design. I designed and prototyped two proposed features in the HSE app:
I worked across all stages of the project, from initial research and ideation to the co-design workshop and final design. I designed and prototyped two proposed features in the HSE app:
Discharge Summary
Discharge Summary
A digital summary that contains a woman's pregnancy details, the baby's information, and the next steps for her long-term care.
A digital summary that contains a woman's pregnancy details, the baby's information, and the next steps for her long-term care.
Digital Care Passport
Digital Care Passport
A passport that holds a woman's pregnancy details, follow-up records, and information about cardiovascular risks & CDMP.
A passport that holds a woman's pregnancy details, follow-up records, and information about cardiovascular risks & CDMP.
highlight
highlight
Connecting women, GPs, and maternity staff to turn a diagnosis into long-term care
Connecting women, GPs, and maternity staff to turn a diagnosis into long-term care
Role & Contribution
Role & Contribution
From research at the hospital to final prototype
From research at the hospital to final prototype
team
We ran every phase of this project together, a literature review, a research process across surveys, observation and interviews, analysing the research findings, and an ideation process involving synthesis, 5 Whys, and concept development.
From there, we ran a co-design workshop, weighed that feedback against value and feasibility, and moved into design and prototyping, working through system implementation across MN-CMS, iPMS, GPMS , and the HSE app, alongside our clinical partners and other healthcare professionals.
We ran every phase of this project together, a literature review, a research process across surveys, observation and interviews, analysing the research findings, and an ideation process involving synthesis, 5 Whys, and concept development.
From there, we ran a co-design workshop, weighed that feedback against value and feasibility, and moved into design and prototyping, working through system implementation across MN-CMS, iPMS, GPMS , and the HSE app, alongside our clinical partners and other healthcare professionals.
glossary
MN-CMS
Maternal & Newborn Clin-ical Management System
Maternal & Newborn Clinical Management System
iPMS
Integrated Patient
Management System
Integrated Patient Management System
GPMS
General Practice
Management System
General Practice Management System
HSE
Health Service
Executive (Ireland)
Health Service Executive (Ireland)
my ownership
Reviewed the team's 20+ literature sources, focusing individually on technology in perinatal and longitudinal women's health to ground the project in existing research.
Reviewed the team's 20+ literature sources, focusing individually on technology in perinatal and longitudinal women's health to ground the project in existing research.
Reviewed the team's 20+ literature sources, focusing individually on technology in perinatal and longitudinal women's health to ground the project in existing research.
Visited The Coombe Hospital in person to gather survey data directly from women and clinical staff.
Visited The Coombe Hospital in person to gather survey data directly from women and clinical staff.
Visited The Coombe Hospital in person to gather survey data directly from women and clinical staff.
Wrote and analysed the survey and interview findings to help form our research themes.
Wrote and analysed the survey and interview findings to help form our research themes.
Wrote and analysed the survey and interview findings to help form our research themes.
Selected Actor Mapping as our ideation method to expose breakdowns between stakeholder groups.
Selected Actor Mapping as our ideation method to expose breakdowns between stakeholder groups.
Selected Actor Mapping as our ideation method to expose breakdowns between stakeholder groups.
Took early ideation from a broad research space down to concrete concepts.
Took early ideation from a broad research space down to concrete concepts.
Took early ideation from a broad research space down to concrete concepts.
Took notes and helped facilitate the co-design workshop, and finalised the concept's direction from the insights gained.
Took notes and helped facilitate the co-design workshop, and finalised the concept's direction from the insights gained.
Took notes and helped facilitate the co-design workshop, and finalised the concept's direction from the insights gained.
Led the design and prototyping of the discharge summary and digital care passport, from early sketches through to a working hi-fidelity prototype.
Led the design and prototyping of the discharge summary and digital care passport, from early sketches through to a working hi-fidelity prototype.
Led the design and prototyping of the discharge summary and digital care passport, from early sketches through to a working hi-fidelity prototype.
Worked through cost, risk, success metrics, HCI guidelines, and policy considerations to bring both features to life.
Worked through cost, risk, success metrics, HCI guidelines, and policy considerations to bring both features to life.
Worked through cost, risk, success metrics, HCI guidelines, and policy considerations to bring both features to life.
problem space
problem space
What the research and themes surfaced
What the research and themes surfaced
Ireland's current healthcare system for maternal health is fragmented. None of the three stakeholders involved, women, GPs, and clinical staff are properly connected to each other. There are several gaps which hinder the stakeholders to stay on top of women's longitudinal care.
Ireland's current healthcare system for maternal health is fragmented. None of the three stakeholders involved, women, GPs, and clinical staff are properly connected to each other. There are several gaps which hinder the stakeholders to stay on top of women's longitudinal care.
Complex Discharge Summary
Complex Discharge Summary
Two discharge summaries exist: dense and paper-based, but only built for health professionals. They aren't written for women to easily understand their own pregnancy, their baby's details, or the risks.
Two discharge summaries exist: dense and paper-based, but only built for health professionals. They aren't written for women to easily understand their own pregnancy, their baby's details, or the risks.
Communication Gap
Communication Gap
While GPs know about the CDMP, the HealthLink emails they receive from the hospitals aren't reliable enough to get the necessary details to enroll women in CDMP. Some hospitals still rely on paper letters.
While GPs know about the CDMP, the HealthLink emails they receive from the hospitals aren't reliable enough to get the necessary details to enroll women in CDMP. Some hospitals still rely on paper letters.
Unreliable Existing Systems
Unreliable Existing Systems
Currently in Ireland, a woman's medical history is scattered across a disconnected healthcare system, leaving her and her primary care team struggle to consistently track her long-term follow-up care.
Currently in Ireland, a woman's medical history is scattered across a disconnected healthcare system, leaving her and her primary care team struggle to consistently track her long-term follow-up care.
Unawareness About the Risks & Programme
Unawareness About the Risks & Programme
Most women don't know about the long-term cardiovascular risks after their complicated pregnancies, or that the CDMP exists to support them in their longitudinal care and what it entails.
Most women don't know about the long-term cardiovascular risks after their complicated pregnancies, or that the CDMP exists to support them in their longitudinal care and what it entails.
constraints
constraints
The solution had to integrate with existing hospital systems, including MN-CMS, while complying with strict GDPR requirements for sensitive health data.
It also needed to avoid a new standalone app, since GPs and hospital staff were already saturated with single-purpose health apps, and many women were already using the HSE app to manage their health records.
The solution had to integrate with existing hospital systems, including MN-CMS, while complying with strict GDPR requirements for sensitive health data.
It also needed to avoid a new standalone app, since GPs and hospital staff were already saturated with single-purpose health apps, and many women were already using the HSE app to manage their health records.
design direction
design direction
Bringing together research, stakeholder priorities, and feasibility
Bringing together research, stakeholder priorities, and feasibility
understanding the existing architecture
understanding the existing architecture
Our meetings with Children's Health Ireland's Group Chief Information Officer, our project partners, and other healthcare professionals throughout the project showed us the real constraints behind digital healthcare integration, backend infrastructure, existing channels, and where the actual barriers sit in Irish healthcare.
Our meetings with Children's Health Ireland's Group Chief Information Officer, our project partners, and other healthcare professionals throughout the project showed us the real constraints behind digital healthcare integration, backend infrastructure, existing channels, and where the actual barriers sit in Irish healthcare.
key considerations
key considerations
Digital literacy remains an open barrier we didn't fully solve, and accessibility and inclusivity needed more research than we had time for. Our fallback was to keep the existing paper process running alongside it.
Digital literacy remains an open barrier we didn't fully solve, and accessibility and inclusivity needed more research than we had time for. Our fallback was to keep the existing paper process running alongside it.
ecosystem
ecosystem
Our main goal is a unified Irish healthcare system, one record connecting every stakeholder, and it's the concept workshop participants responded to most. But it's a far-future scope, so we proceeded with two achievable features to reduce the communication gap, building inside an existing healthcare app instead.
Our main goal is a unified Irish healthcare system, one record connecting every stakeholder, and it's the concept workshop participants responded to most. But it's a far-future scope, so we proceeded with two achievable features to reduce the communication gap, building inside an existing healthcare app instead.
final design
final design
Designed to fit inside the existing HSE platform
Designed to fit inside the existing HSE platform
VIsuals
I built on HSE's existing design system, adjusting information boxes, CTAs, and the notification panel to hold denser information, while keeping base components consistent across both features.
I built on HSE's existing design system, adjusting information boxes, CTAs, and the notification panel to hold denser information, while keeping base components consistent across both features.
01
01
Discharge
Summary
Discharge
Summary
Process
Maternity staff trigger the discharge summary from MN-CMS six weeks after discharge, sending her a notification that it's ready on the HSE app. It also lives as a persistent CTA in her Patient Records, under My Health, so she can access it any time. Opening it shows her pregnancy, baby's, and follow-up care details in plain language.
Maternity staff trigger the discharge summary from MN-CMS six weeks after discharge, sending her a notification that it's ready on the HSE app. It also lives as a persistent CTA in her Patient Records, under My Health, so she can access it any time. Opening it shows her pregnancy, baby's, and follow-up care details in plain language.
interactive prototype
Here's the discharge summary flow that you can try out yourself.
I made the designs on Figma and used Replit to build a live prototype.
Here's the discharge summary flow that you can try out yourself.
I made the designs on Figma and used Replit to build a live prototype.
Click on the HSE notification to get started.
02
02
Digital Care
Passport
Digital Care
Passport
Process
Using the FIGO Pregnancy Passport model as a reference, I designed the digital care passport to map her pregnancy details, follow-up records, cardiovascular risk, and CDMP information into one place within My Health. A dynamic notification alerts her whenever her GP updates it, so she always knows when something's changed.
interactive prototype
Coming soon.
Currently, building the live prototype on Replit.
future scope
future scope
The potential next steps to continue this
The potential next steps to continue this
This is a proposed integration into the HSE platform. If it moves further, the next step is a small pilot with The Coombe Hospital, a handful of GPs, and women actually using the discharge and passport flow.
No amount of further design work can predict whether GPs update the passport consistently once it's live, or whether maternity staff reliably trigger the discharge summary from MN-CMS to the HSE app, six weeks after discharge, the way it's designed to work. A pilot also won't show adoption or satisfaction on day one; that's something to track over months.
Beyond that, this needs direct conversations with the HSE's own team to understand real feasibility and how these features could support women's care over the long term.
This is a proposed integration into the HSE platform. If it moves further, the next step is a small pilot with The Coombe Hospital, a handful of GPs, and women actually using the discharge and passport flow.
No amount of further design work can predict whether GPs update the passport consistently once it's live, or whether maternity staff reliably trigger the discharge summary from MN-CMS to the HSE app, six weeks after discharge, the way it's designed to work. A pilot also won't show adoption or satisfaction on day one; that's something to track over months.
Beyond that, this needs direct conversations with the HSE's own team to understand real feasibility and how these features could support women's care over the long term.
A Unified Irish Healthcare System
A Unified Irish Healthcare System
We had this in mind from the earliest stages: one record connecting MN-CMS, GPMS, and the HSE app, so information stops disappearing at every handover. It would give women real ownership of their own data, and let GPs, maternity staff, and hospitals collaborate around it securely.
Countries already run versions of this, My Health App in the US, Mon Espace Santé in France, MinSundhed in Denmark, and Ireland's own Digital Health Framework 2024–2030 points in the same direction. The discharge summary and passport are the realistic starting point, prove the smaller pieces first, then connect them.
We had this in mind from the earliest stages: one record connecting MN-CMS, GPMS, and the HSE app, so information stops disappearing at every handover. It would give women real ownership of their own data, and let GPs, maternity staff, and hospitals collaborate around it securely.
Countries already run versions of this, My Health App in the US, Mon Espace Santé in France, MinSundhed in Denmark, and Ireland's own Digital Health Framework 2024–2030 points in the same direction. The discharge summary and passport are the realistic starting point, prove the smaller pieces first, then connect them.
retrospective
retrospective
The stance and people behind it
The stance and people behind it
As an HCI professional, this project is about giving women ownership of their own medical data, not just access to it. Understanding her risk and staying on top of her long-term follow-up care shouldn't depend on whether her data makes it through the gap between three different systems.
None of it was mine alone. It came from a team of four, the UCD staff, our clinical and research partners, the GPs, midwives, and nurse who gave their time for the project throughout, and the women who let us into their own experience of this gap in the first place.
As an HCI professional, this project is about giving women ownership of their own medical data, not just access to it. Understanding her risk and staying on top of her long-term follow-up care shouldn't depend on whether her data makes it through the gap between three different systems.
None of it was mine alone. It came from a team of four, the UCD staff, our clinical and research partners, the GPs, midwives, and nurse who gave their time for the project throughout, and the women who let us into their own experience of this gap in the first place.
A project I want to take further if given the chance
Women live with an undiagnosed, unmanaged cardiovascular risk for decades after complicated pregnancies. That gap is exactly what this project set out to close, and feedback from our project partner and other healthcare professionals on the proposed solution was genuinely positive, real proof it's worth pursuing.
This case study covers a fraction of our twelve weeks of work. For the full research through implementation, check out our portfolio magazine:
(P.S. View it as two-page view. It's quite long, but worth it)
fin.
A project I want to take further if given the chance
Women live with an undiagnosed, unmanaged cardiovascular risk for decades after complicated pregnancies. That gap is exactly what this project set out to close, and feedback from our project partner and other healthcare professionals on the proposed solution was genuinely positive, real proof it's worth pursuing.
This case study covers a fraction of our twelve weeks of work. For the full research through implementation, check out our portfolio magazine:
(P.S. View it as two-page view. It's quite long, but worth it)
fin.
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