Redesigning the International Patient Services Experience

Problem

Mayo Clinic’s International Patient Services digital experience was not aligned with how global patients research, evaluate, and access complex care. Low discoverability, fragmented pathways, and inconsistent content created confusion for non-native English speakers, increased drop-off across critical appointment flows, and limited the organization’s ability to scale international patient growth safely and sustainably.

Key challenges included:

• Low discoverability: International pages received less than 5% of traffic from organic search

• Misaligned information architecture: Navigation and content structure did not reflect patient mental models or care-seeking behaviors

• Fragmented appointment journeys: Redundant steps and unclear terminology caused friction and abandonment

• High drop-off at qualification steps: Travel readiness and medical records screens introduced unnecessary cognitive load

• Accessibility & compliance risk: Inconsistent standards, particularly across UK pages and forms

• Content fragmentation: A separate UK site with thin content weakened clarity, trust, and search authority

Constraints

This initiative operated within several structural and organizational constraints typical of a large, regulated healthcare environment:

• Regulatory & compliance requirements: All designs had to meet strict healthcare, accessibility, and regional compliance standards (including UK-specific requirements).

• Platform limitations: Work was constrained by existing CMS (AEM) architecture, form frameworks, and shared global components.

• Parallel business priorities: Redesign efforts needed to align with ongoing marketing, SEO, and operational initiatives already in flight.

• Global audience complexity: Content had to support diverse cultural contexts, languages, and care expectations without fragmenting the experience.

• Incremental delivery model: Improvements were shipped iteratively to minimize risk and avoid disruption to live appointment services.

Process & Approach

Phase 1: Foundation & Continuous Discovery (Months 1–3)

• Established a dedicated, cross-functional product team

• Conducted competitive, gap, and accessibility analyses

• Implemented a continuous discovery model with weekly insight cycles

Research methods included A/B testing, card sorting, IA tree testing, qualitative interviews, VOC surveys, and concept validation across priority regions (Canada, Mexico, India, UAE).

Phase 2: Architecture & Content Transformation (Months 4–6)

• Rebuilt the IA around real patient mental models and care-seeking behaviors

• Consolidated and strengthened UK content to improve clarity and search authority

Content Strategy

• Evolved 14 legacy concepts into 20 redesigned pages and 15 net-new pages

• Introduced the Tajawal Arabic font to improve legibility and accessibility for Arabic-reading users