CEDAR

New York, NY

Designing Patient Motivation into a Prepay Experience

Role: Product Designer (UX Research + Strategy + 0 to 1 Design)

Team: Cross-functional team with PM, Marketing, Engineering, and Sales

Duration: June to August 2022

Problem

Despite the launch of Cedar Pre — a suite designed to increase transparency and enable upfront payments — early adoption was limited. Patients often ignored pre-visit estimates, leading to poor conversion and diminished ROI for providers.

GOAL

Uncover and design for the core motivations that would nudge patients to pay their medical estimates ahead of time.

OUTCOME

  • Identified top behavioral drivers and barriers to prepayment

  • Co-developed three UX concepts that reframe the act of prepaying as a time-saving, empowering choice

  • Informed product roadmap and content strategy for Cedar Pre’s next beta iteration

  • Helped Cedar build a scalable research model to validate early product bets

Approach

  • Frame the Right Questions

    Collaborated with PMs and engineers to break down business ambiguity into three core design questions:

    • Who pays early and why?

    • What language or framing encourages follow-through?

    • How does cost size change perception?

  • Map the Patient Mindset

    Combined literature review, internal SME interviews, and 10 patient interviews across the U.S. Used storytelling and behavioral science principles to unpack prepayment as a decision made under uncertainty, emotion, and mistrust.

  • Co-design and Test Concepts

    Built low-fi concept sketches and ran structured usability tests, validating which UX narratives (e.g. “save time at check-in”, “lock in your spot”, “get peace of mind”) worked best.

  • Translate Insights to Product Decisions

    Worked with design and product leads to shape recommendations for:

    • Onboarding content strategy

    • Framing of price estimates

    • Ideal moments in the user flow for nudges

KEY INSIGHT

Prepayment isn’t a financial decision. It’s an emotional one.

Patients don’t just want clarity — they want control. Trust, timing, and tone matter more than discounts.

REFLECTION

What Made This Work

  • Bridged behavioral science and design strategy

  • Simplified a complex problem into testable hypotheses

  • Positioned research as a driver of product clarity, not just validation

  • Balanced rigor with speed to meet tight timelines

This project helped me stretch from UX Research into product shaping — where insights are only valuable if they turn into decisions. It taught me how to speak the language of value, not just usability — something I carry into every product conversation today.