Less Than Adequate Search Parameters
I applaud Blue Shield of CA for having a decent look and feel to their site, and a seemingly comprehensive database of information, both for providers and members. But after digging a little to find a new doctor in the area, I’m noticing some heavy flaws in the architecture and search functions of the site.
My parameters: a female doctor within five miles of my address in the city of San Francisco. 12 doctors came up. TWELVE. Actually, no, not even 12 because a few were double listed. I’m pretty certain a city of 800,000 residents or so (about half of whom I can assume are female) needs more than ten or so OB-GYNs in a 5-mile radius (in a city that’s 7×7 no less), don’t you think? Not satisfied with those choices and realizing I can never just pull a name out of a hat these days anyway, I went to Yelp for guidance on good doctors.
I found the name of a doctor who apparently uses email to correspond with her patients, her office is only a mile away, and she has some pretty rave reviews. I put her name in specifically for my search, and voilà! She shows up! My insurance covers her, so why didn’t she appear in the general search?
Another anomaly is that when I opted to view and subsequently edit my search criteria, suddenly my actual plan was not represented. A completely different type of coverage was mentioned, and when I attempted to change that element, some wackiness ensued regarding dropdown menus. Funny that the initial search seemed seamless and intuitive even, but once I got more into searching, that’s when all hell broke loose with functionality and architecture.
By the way, I think I broke the site because I did a search on the particular medical center this doctor is affiliated with and it has yet to load…
As an ironic ending, I was asked to take a quick survey regarding my experience while using the site. I basically referred them to this blog entry. :)