The NHS Common Drug Reference is an internal platform used by the NHS Business Services Authority to manage and standardise sensitive drug records. As part of a wider migration from a legacy third-party system to an internally owned platform, I was brought in to redesign critical user journeys on the new system.
Strategic impact
This work supported the NHS’s move to a secure, future-proof platform that could evolve with changing policies and ways of working. Improving the accuracy and usability of drug search and update workflows helped reduce operational risk, minimise errors, and support teams responsible for maintaining nationally critical data.
Improving critical workflows in a sensitive system
I focused on two high-impact journeys: searching for a drug and updating drug attributes and pricing. These workflows were central to users’ daily work and a common source of friction and error in the legacy system. Due to the sensitivity of the data, designs could not be publicly demonstrated, which required close collaboration and trust with internal teams.
Collaboration, evidence based design and being the user's voice
I began by building a strong understanding of the existing platform, the partially completed new system, and the broader business context. This included collaborating with developers, testers, analysts, and security specialists to understand how the system worked end-to-end, alongside moderated user research to understand real workflows, constraints, and failure points.
Using these insights, I mapped all key update scenarios and redesigned the journeys to reduce cognitive load, prevent errors, and improve clarity. Before taking designs to users, I facilitated a workshop with the development team to assess technical feasibility and constraints, ensuring proposed solutions were realistic and aligned with the system architecture.
I ran moderated user sessions to validate the redesigned journeys and identify which changes had the greatest impact. Feedback was incorporated through multiple iterations, moving from high-fidelity designs to coded prototypes that closely reflected the final implementation. Particular care was taken to meet accessibility requirements and to ensure the experience felt coherent and predictable.
Throughout the project, I stayed closely connected to development to maintain shared context and avoid late-stage surprises. By the time of handover, technical constraints were well understood, and the team had clear rationale behind design decisions.
Outcomes
Reduced error risk in critical update workflows
Improved clarity and usability in daily tasks
Positive feedback from users, who described the experience as more intuitive, polished, and pleasant to use
A smoother handover and implementation due to early and ongoing collaboration
