Calypso: Doctors Database
After the Calypso website had launched and the team was in full-time production, it was time to get started on some of the resources I had explored but left out of the MVP. One of those resources was the Doctors Database which would solve a real problem for Pennsylvania patients: while the Pennsylvania Department of Health provides a list all medical marijuana doctors, the PDF contains around 1,500 records and provides only the address for contact information. So, with the go-ahead from the Calypso team I designed and built a simple database that could be browsed and searched.
Users can use the Doctor’s Database by using either search or browse features. To create the Browse by Region map as simple and effective as possible, I created it as a single SVG with x-links. This allowed me to use basic SASS/CSS for interactions rather than creating a more complex solution with javascript.
Choosing to browse by either region or county results in the page shown with minor differences depending on which was selected. During the process of collecting data, we ran into some doctors who did not have information except what was already provided in the DOH list or that was conflicting. In these instanced, we flagged them as having unavailable, out-dated, or incorrect information which appears as an icon with tooltip on their record. To “fail gracefully” we also decided to provide a search link which takes the user to a Google search using the doctors name and city.
The search feature provides results based on name, address, and speciality. Users can then access the same functionality as with browse for each doctor with an additional option to see all doctors within their county.
Additional Thoughts
When I had initially proposed the concept as a “curveball” idea in our Calypso website proposal — I like to include one in every big design project — I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it was well received, albeit not as part of our MVP. I’m sure to some businesses this could seem like a waste of time or effort. However, the team at Calypso is determined to be part of pushing the industry forward and giving back to the community wherever they can. In that respect, as the third highest trafficked section of our website, it has been really successful in providing a much needed service to the medical marijuana patients of Pennsylvania.