Product Design
User Research
User Testing
Product Management
DentaQuest is one of the largest dental insurance companies in the United States, offering Medicaid and CHIP, commercial, direct-to-consumer, and marketplace dental programs to nearly 30 million people across the country.
DentaQuest's internal development team had recently built and released new portals that were poorly received by users. The websites suffered from slow load times, broken functionality, and unintuitive interfaces. Dental office administrators and patients were frustrated by basic tasks that should have been simple.
DentaQuest was at risk of losing their largest client, Texas Department of Health and Human Services, who contracted with them for Medicaid benefits.
Existing design: The original portal left providers frustrated, not only with the visually challenging interface, but with the number of technical issues faced when trying to enter claims.
Workshop facilitation: We used dot voting exercises to gather and prioritize requirements from all stakeholders.
Information architecture (IA) diagram: The sitemap showing the hierarchical structure and interconnected relationships between main functional areas including Claims, Profile, Authorization & Referrals, Network, and Payments sections.
Form error states (wireframe): We designed and wrote copy for error states that appeared in-line and with fields for every form on the portal.
Dialog requesting action (wireframe): For complex scenarios where users might have multiple eligibility plans or coverage options, I designed dialogs that provided clear choices and explanations rather than cryptic error messages. This transformed moments of friction into guided experiences that helped users complete their tasks successfully.
Simplified registration process (wireframes): The redesigned registration flow reduced complexity from a multi-page form to a streamlined two-step process with email verification, dramatically lowering barriers to individual account creation.
Granular permission management (wireframe): We restructured user management with easy-to-understand permission levels based on common tasks and office departments, implementing "super user" roles that provided practice oversight while maintaining proper access controls.
File a claim flow (wireframes): We focused heavily on claims processing because dental administrators perform claims filing dozens of times daily, making every click significant. We restructured forms to match natural workflow sequences, added quick-access availability views, and implemented full keyboard navigation—reducing process time by eliminating unnecessary interactions.
Homepage: We added a personalized welcome message to the screen, further encouraging admins to create their own accounts. Simplicity became a strength of the final product, allowing users to quickly jump into actions.
Patient detail pages: We highlighted the most important actions and information above the fold.
Claim detail page: We utilized clear type hierarchy on claim pages, the most information-dense part of the website.
Developer handoff: The third-party developers didn't work in any design software, so all designs and style documentation were handed off via PDFs.
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© Courtney Sabo, 2025