Account Linking

My Role:
As Lead UX/UI Designer, I was responsible for driving the design process from ideation to deployment. My key duties included:

Leading user research to identify pain points and workflow inefficiencies.
Collaborating with stakeholders, developers, and product managers to align on business objectives.
Designing intuitive user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes.
Conducting usability testing to validate the solution before development.
Ensuring a smooth handoff to development while maintaining design consistency and accessibility.

Overview:
Account Linking was a critical new process and feature designed to streamline the workflow for health providers managing multiple accounts within the myCGS portal to process claims. Many providers oversee multiple departments responsible for processing Medicare claims, requiring a seamless way to sync and manage all their accounts under a single user profile. Additionally, we worked with clearinghouses—third-party entities that facilitate the secure transmission of claims between providers and payers. By implementing this solution, we enhanced efficiency for providers including hospitals, clinics, and clearinghouses, reducing manual work, improving claim accuracy, and ensuring a more seamless processing experience.

Understanding the Problem

The Challenge:
Users had to log in and out multiple times a day to complete tasks for the different providers they managed billing and claims for, this was a pain because each provider had their own unique login. Providers and clearinghouses faced significant challenges in managing multiple login accounts due to CMS security guidelines, which required passwords to be updated every 30 days for privacy and security compliance. If passwords weren’t updated within the allotted time, accounts would be deactivated, preventing the processing of Medicare claims for beneficiaries—a critical issue that could disrupt healthcare services.

For clearinghouses, which manage anywhere from 10 to 100+ accounts at a time, this process was extremely inefficient. Administrators had to manually update credentials across multiple accounts every month, consuming valuable production time on a task that should not have been their responsibility.

The Goal:
To solve this, we aimed to create a new process and to design an Account Linking tab that would allow providers to seamlessly link and manage multiple accounts under one master user account, reducing friction and administrative burden. Security remained a top priority, ensuring that authentication remained streamlined yet compliant, allowing users to securely access their linked accounts with ease.

Gathering Insights

To better understand the challenges our users faced, the team and I conducted user interviews with different personas, including office managers, medical billing specialists and clearinghouse administrators. Our research primarily took place via video conferencing, allowing us to observe their real-time interactions with the portal and capture their emotions and frustrations firsthand.

Jamie Lane

I have been locked out so many times over the past few months this year and it caused me to lose so much time figuring out which user ID needed an update and when.

Maxine J.

It would be nice to be able to access all of my User IDs in one place.

Jesse N.

If my administrator is off the day my account is deactivated, how am I supposed to submit claims?

Drew C.

I manage about 20 accounts with separate user IDs and it literally takes an entire working day to update them all the same day to avoid deactivation.

Ashley B.

Discovery Process

After collecting the recordings from the user interviews, I conducted an affinity mapping exercise with my team to synthesize the pains identified. We grouped these problems under common themes and features in the platform.

Based on the user interviews conducted with 9 users, and collected 50 surveys, and we found the following key issues:

57% of users felt that the process of logging in and out the portal was arduous
29% were frustrated that their accounts had gotten disabled and sometimes the administrators found it hard to identify which user accounts were missing
29% of users found that it was easy to miss password updates due to a lack of visual hierarchy

The top table displays comments gathered from user interviews. We grouped them in different categories based on their roles in their organization. We gathered the most comments and connected them together to show the common pain points by position.

The bottom table displays common comments collected from online surveys on the myCGS portal. We used the Qualtrics CX platform as an integration to collect data and tailor survey questions about the pain points of the login process.

UX Methodology We Used

When gathering the comments I led an activity with my team that relied on a data-driven approach, known as the Severity Framework, to inform our process and list usability issues in order of priority. The framework helps to identify the severity score of a usability issue based on the following three variables:

Task Criticality x Impact x Frequency = Severity

Task criticality - how important is the task to the user? (1 = low, 5 = critical)
Impact - how much of an impact does this issue have on the user's task? (1 = suggestion, 5 = blocker)
Frequency (%) - how many times does this come up out of total participants?

Prioritization of Issues

As lead on this project, I took the initiative to categorize usability challenges into broader Epics, providing Product Managers and Engineers with a clear roadmap of key areas requiring improvement. This structured approach ensured that critical usability issues were prioritized effectively, balancing user needs, business impact, and engineering feasibility.

Key Findings

Manual Workarounds: Many users resorted to spreadsheets to track and manage multiple login credentials, highlighting an inefficient and error-prone system.
Account Lockouts: If passwords weren’t updated within the 30-day CMS requirement, accounts would be deactivated, causing delays in Medicare claim processing.
Clearinghouse Struggles: Managing 10–100+ logins meant clearinghouse administrators were spending excessive time manually updating passwords instead of focusing on their primary responsibilities.
Redundant Login Process: Users had to log in and out of multiple accounts repeatedly throughout the day to complete repetitive tasks, significantly impacting productivity.
Desired Solution: Users consistently expressed that an ideal solution would allow them to seamlessly switch between accounts within a single session—eliminating the need to log in multiple times daily.

This research reinforced our design direction: creating a centralized account linking system that would simplify authentication, reduce administrative workload, and improve overall user efficiency.

After discussions between Product Owners, Development, and Engineering teams, we collectively determined that the first Epic to prioritize would be the Account Linking process. This decision was based on:

Severity score – The feature's direct impact on users and business operations.
User experience challenges – The complexity and friction in the existing workflow.
Engineering effort – The level of development required to implement a seamless solution.

This prioritization framework ensured that we tackled the most critical pain points first, delivering maximum value to both users and stakeholders.

Journey Mapping Process

Our design process began with mapping out the user flow to ensure a seamless account linking experience. Using Visio, we visualized the click journey users would take to connect multiple accounts. This helped us define the most intuitive pathways and eliminate unnecessary steps.

Wireframing the Issue

To kickstart the design process, I rapidly created low-fidelity wireframes to establish the overall layout and structure of the Account Linking feature. I used the existing layout as my foundation and just added from there that way the design remained scalable. These initial concepts were shared with Provider Outreach and Education team, Engineering, and end users to gather early feedback and ensure alignment with their needs.

A key focus during this phase was to define a clear and standardized visual hierarchy, making it easy for users to navigate and interact with the new Account Linking component. This process helped:

Identify potential usability challenges early.
Align design decisions with engineering feasibility.
Ensure the solution met user expectations before moving into high-fidelity designs.

This iterative approach allowed us to refine the layout efficiently, ensuring a user-friendly and scalable foundation for the final product.

Validating the Designs with Users

To ensure our designs effectively addressed user pain points, I conducted usability testing sessions with our primary users, including providers, medical billing and coding professionals, and clearinghouse claims managers. These sessions were designed to assess whether the new Account Linking feature improved the user experience and streamlined workflow efficiency.

I developed a structured test script that included a realistic scenario, guiding participants through the process of creating a new audience and linking multiple accounts. Throughout the sessions, I closely observed how users navigated the prototype, paying attention to their interactions, pain points, and feedback.

Key Findings:

Users found it significantly easier to set up new accounts and link them, thanks to the grouping of related fields within the interface.
The introduction of a collapsible toggle for advanced settings reduced cognitive load, making it clearer which forms needed immediate attention.
Overall, participants expressed greater confidence in the new workflow, confirming that the redesigned experience reduced complexity and improved efficiency.

This validation process provided critical insights that reinforced our design decisions, ensuring the final product was intuitive, user-friendly, and aligned with stakeholder needs.

Developing the Designs

To bring the Account Linking feature to life, I created high-fidelity mockups in Adobe XD, enabling engineers to inspect elements, extract assets, and export HTML and CSS code seamlessly. This ensured a smooth handoff between design and development.

Collaboration with the Front-End team was essential during this phase. I worked closely with them to:

Define missing interactions that weren’t fully detailed in the mockups.
Clarify UI behaviors to ensure seamless implementation.
Address technical constraints while maintaining the integrity of the user experience.

Additionally, I conducted UX reviews for each front-end ticket before deployment, verifying that the implemented designs matched the intended experience. This quality control step helped ensure the final product was not only visually consistent but also functionally optimized for usability.

Account Linking allows users to combine multiple User IDs under one Super ID. From the new Super ID, they can select one of your linked accounts to perform functions available under that PTAN/NPI.

Here are the steps created to link an account:

Log in to myCGS under the User ID you would like to set up as your Super ID.
Select the My Account tab, then select the Account Linking sub-tab.
In the User ID field, enter a User ID you would like to link to your Super ID. Enter the password for that User ID.
Click the Link Account button.

Defining the Process

Forgive me for the small images they are JPEG (kind of blurry)

If the account the user is attempting to link is active, a confirmation message will display to let them know the account will be linked within 24 hours.

If the user has other User IDs that they would like to link under the new Super ID, they would simply repeat steps 1-4 above.
- In the User ID field, enter additional User ID and the password for that User ID.
- Click the Link Account button.
As requests are submitted, confirmation that the requests were received are delivered to the myCGS inbox of the Super ID.

The user may select the Pending Requests drop-down to verify the User IDs requested to link to their Master ID.

Once the linking process for each request is complete, separate confirmation emails will be sent to the user at their registered email address.

Confirmation will also be delivered to the myCGS inbox of the Super ID.

Users also may select the Completed Requests drop-down to verify the User IDs you requested to link to your Super ID were linked.

Once complete, when logged in with their Super ID, the user selects the account they would like to access by clicking on the drop-down at the top of the screen.

Before Development: Leveraging the Results

After Deployment: Measuring Impact with Qualtrics Results

Before implementing the Account Linking feature, our Qualtrics satisfaction score was 3.5, averaging 86 responses per month. Comparatively, the median MAC/NPS score was 3.6, meaning we were underperforming against the Medicare benchmark. This was a critical issue, as lower scores directly impacted funding and financing, making it harder to demonstrate to CMS that we were a viable contractor. Falling behind in performance not only put us below the curve but also jeopardized our standing in the industry.

The second graph presents a breakdown of performance scores across departments and jurisdictions, with two key sections analyzing portal and website survey results:

Portal scores ranged from 3.1 to 4.0, indicating major usability gaps.
Website functionality and feature ratings were between 2.8 and 4.3, highlighting significant inconsistencies in user experience.

Launching a new feature is never the finish line, it’s what happens after deployment that truly defines success. The real impact is measured by user feedback and engagement, and the data spoke volumes.

Immediately after launch, we saw a significant increase in survey responses, jumping from 86 to 232 responses. This surge in engagement allowed us to gather richer insights into user satisfaction. As a result, our overall NPS score rose dramatically from 3.1 to 4.52, marking a huge improvement.

Breaking it down further:

Departmental scores, previously ranging from 3.1 to 4.0, increased to 4.3 - 4.6.
Our portal satisfaction score jumped from 3.6 to as high as 4.6 out of 5.
On the bar graph, our department’s blue line indicated a clear upward trend in user satisfaction.

These results validated the importance of the Account Linking feature, proving that the design and functionality improvements directly enhanced the user experience.

Thanks for your time and consideration!

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