ANDREA BREITLING

​​Client:  Cubex

​​​​

The Problem:​

 

Cubex set out to redesign their CareFusion automated dispensing cabinets, used by nurses to dispense medications (including controlled substances) and clinical supplies and to include biometric authentication. The effort spanned both the touchscreen user experience and the industrial design of the physical system.

​

Nurses and clinical staff relied on a touchscreen interface that was inconsistent, confusing, and difficult to use in time-sensitive care environments:

​

• Interface language and visual design varied across screens, 

• Critical workflows (patient selection, medication choice, dosing, dispensing) required unnecessary steps

• High cognitive load increased the risk of error and slowed routine tasks. Users had to remember their "work-arounds" to complete a task.

• Poor alignment with real clinical terminology and workflows

​

The challenge was to redesign the system to support fast, confident, and error-resistant use in regulated healthcare settings.

 

My Role

• Served as Program Manager and UX Lead, guiding a cross-functional team and contributing directly to design

• Defined budget, timelines, and delivery, and facilitated design reviews across stakeholders

• Led the end-to-end redesign of the dispensing interface at the point of care (dispensing cabinet)

• Extended UX thinking to adjacent workflows, including pharmacy restocking, system alerts, and the nurse's station.

• Simplified and iterated on core clinical workflows to reduce friction and error

• Aligned language and interaction patterns with real clinical practice

• Designed for speed, clarity, and obviousness in high-pressure environments

• Partnered with industrial and mechanical design to shape the physical cabinet using human factors principles

• Ensured solutions met regulatory, usability, and safety requirements through close stakeholder collaboration

​

Outcome:

​

• Streamlined key workflows for patient selection, medication choice, dosing, and dispensing

• Reduced cognitive load through consistent interaction patterns and improved visual hierarchy

• Updated interface language to reflect real-world clinical terminology

• Improved usability and confidence for nurses in fast-paced care environments

• Delivered a clean, predictable, and regulation-appropriate interface

Design Deliverables

​​

• Workflow redesigns and task flows for core dispensing actions

• Information mapping

• UI system and interaction patterns

• Sketching concepts, lo fi prototypes

• High-fidelity interface designs and handoff assets