Praxis — A UX Case Study

Finding a Hausarzt in Germany shouldn't take 10+ phone calls.

Redesigning how patients find doctors who actually accept new Kassenpatienten.

Product DesignUX ResearchMobile AppGermany 2026

Willkommen zurück

Hallo, Lena 👋

📍Köln-Ehrenfeld
Wen suchst du?
Gesetzlich ✓
Neue Patienten
Sprache: EN
< 3 km
Praxen, die dich aufnehmen
Karte →
JB

Dr. med. Julia Bergmann

Allgemeinmedizin · Köln-Ehrenfeld · 1.2 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf
4.7 (128)
DEEN

Antwortet meist innerhalb von 6h

TR

Dr. med. Tobias Richter

Allgemeinmedizin · Köln-Nippes · 1.8 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf
4.5 (93)
DEEN

Antwortet meist innerhalb von 2h

SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Innere Medizin · Köln-Sülz · 2.4 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf
4.9 (215)
DE

Antwortet meist innerhalb von 24h

Suche
Favoriten
2
Anfragen
Profil
Profil
SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Fachärztin für Allgemeinmedizin

Köln-Ehrenfeld · 1.2 km entfernt
DEENTR

Nimmt neue Patienten auf

Seit März 2026

4.8 ⭐

127 Bewertungen

~12 Min

Ø Wartezeit

Seit 2011

Niedergelassen

Gesetzlich versichert ✓

Akzeptiert alle gesetzlichen Kassen

Über die Praxis

Unsere Praxis legt Wert auf ganzheitliche Betreuung. Schwerpunkte: Vorsorgeuntersuchungen, chronische Erkrankungen, Impfberatung und Hausbesuche.

Öffnungszeiten

Montag
08:00 – 18:00
Dienstag
08:00 – 18:00
Mittwoch
08:00 – 13:00
Donnerstag
08:00 – 18:00
Freitag
08:00 – 14:00

Bewertungen

Alle anzeigen →

Sehr einfühlsame Ärztin, nimmt sich Zeit für Gespräche. Kurze Wartezeiten.

Maria K. · Verifizierter Patient ✓ · Jan 2026

Anfrage senden

Antwort innerhalb von 48h · DSGVO-konform

Anfrage senden1 von 2
SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Nimmt auf

Versicherung

Gesetzlich — AOK Rheinland
Kompatibel ✓

Was ist der Grund?

🏠Neuer Hausarzt
📋Überweisung
🤒Akute Beschwerden

Nachricht (optional)

z.B. Ich bin vor kurzem nach Köln gezogen...
Weiter →

🔒 Deine Daten werden verschlüsselt

10+
01 - Overview
RoleSolo Designer & Researcher
TypeConcept Project
ToolsFigma, Framer
PlatformiOS Mobile App
2026 REFORM

Every patient will need a registered Hausarzt.

Before specialist care. The deadline is real.

10+calls

for one yes.

60%left waiting

over 2 weeks for first access.

9:41

Call log

Cologne - Hausarzt search

Praxis Dr. Weber

No intake

Praxis Dr. Lang

No intake

Praxis Dr. Koch

No intake

Praxis Dr. Yilmaz

No intake

Praxis Dr. Bauer

No intake

Praxis Dr. Schmidt

No intake
0/6

accepted

This is the current experience.

8,000practices closing

by 2029, with no successors.

THE GAP

No platform shows which doctors accept new patients.

Not Jameda. Not Doctolib. Not 116117.

DESIGN CHALLENGE

How might we help anyone find and request a Hausarzt in under 2 minutes?

Continue
02 — The Problem

This is what finding a doctor looks like.

No app. No website. Just your phone, a list of numbers, and hope.

Call log — Köln, März 20260 / 12

What if you didn't have to make a single call?

12

calls made

0

accepted

~35 min

wasted

Research Findings

Three systemic failures. One experience gap.

Desk research, app store reviews, and community complaints revealed the same patterns across hundreds of experiences.

📞
75%struggle to get appointments

The invisible waiting list

"Ich habe 14 Praxen angerufen. Alle sagten: Wir nehmen keine neuen Patienten. Einfach so. Keine Warteliste, nichts."

— Patient in Köln, r/germany

No centralized system tracks which doctors accept new patients. The only way to find out is calling — one by one.

⚖️
longer wait for Kassenpatienten

The two-tier wall

"Als Kassenpatient fühlt man sich wie ein Mensch zweiter Klasse. Privatpatienten kriegen sofort Termine, wir warten Wochen."

— Trustpilot-Bewertung, Jameda

Privately insured patients generate 2.3× more revenue per visit. Practices prioritize them, leaving fewer slots for the publicly insured majority.

🏥
8,000GP practices closing by 2029

The retirement cliff

"Mein Hausarzt geht in Rente. Er hat keinen Nachfolger. Seine 2.000 Patienten stehen plötzlich ohne Arzt da."

— WDR Lokalzeit, NRW

80,000 doctors are over 60. Last year alone, 150 GP practices closed with no successor. The supply is shrinking while demand rises.

Sources: Euronews Health (2025), McKinsey Germany Healthcare Report, OECD Health Data, vzbv Consumer Survey, r/germany, Trustpilot Jameda reviews

03 — Analysis & Decisions

What already exists — and what doesn't.

Before designing anything, I mapped the three platforms patients actually use. Each serves a purpose. None solve the real problem.

Jameda

Review Platform
Finds doctors, not availability
What it does

Lets patients rate and review doctors. Germany's largest doctor directory with 11M+ monthly visits.

What it misses

No data on whether a doctor accepts new patients. You find a 5-star Hausarzt — then call and get rejected.

Doctolib

Booking Platform
Books appointments, not relationships
What it does

Online appointment booking for doctors who opt in. Clean UX, strong in urban areas.

What it misses

Only lists doctors who pay for the platform. No Hausarzt onboarding flow. Booking a slot is not the same as being accepted.

116117

Government Hotline
Has authority, not accuracy
What it does

Official KBV service for urgent care and doctor search. Legal mandate to help.

What it misses

Phone-only. Average wait: 8+ minutes. Database is outdated — many listings are practices that stopped accepting months ago.

None of them answer the only question that matters:

Who will take me as a new patient — right now?

Three decisions that shaped Praxis.

Each decision traces directly back to a research finding. Nothing was arbitrary.

01AVAILABILITY TRUTH🟢
Insight

75% of patients call practices that are not accepting — because no platform tracks this data.

Decision

Real-time accepting-new-patients status as the primary filter and most visible UI element.

Outcome

Users see only doctors who will actually consider them. No more blind calls.

Before
After

Call → Rejected → Call → Rejected → Call...

02NO PHONE REQUIRED📱
Insight

Finding a Hausarzt takes 10+ calls and ~35 minutes. Patients with anxiety or language barriers are disproportionately affected.

Decision

A structured request flow that replaces the phone call entirely. Insurance, reason, language — all pre-filled.

Outcome

What took 35 minutes and 10 calls now takes 90 seconds and zero calls.

Before
After

Look up number → Call → Explain → Get rejected → Repeat

03INSURANCE PRE-MATCH
Insight

Kassenpatienten wait 2x longer because they cannot tell which doctors accept their insurance before calling.

Decision

Auto-compatibility check that matches the user's Kasse with doctor's accepted insurances before showing results.

Outcome

Zero wasted effort on incompatible doctors. The green Kompatibel badge builds instant trust.

Before
After

"Nehmen Sie gesetzlich Versicherte?" → "Nein." → Hang up

Next: The solution in action →

05 — The Screens

Five screens. One experience.

Willkommen zurück

Hallo, Lena 👋

📍Köln-Ehrenfeld
Wen suchst du?
Gesetzlich ✓
Neue Patienten
< 3 km
Praxen, die dich aufnehmen
JB

Dr. med. Julia Bergmann

Köln-Ehrenfeld · 1.2 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf4.7
TR

Dr. med. Tobias Richter

Köln-Nippes · 1.8 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf4.5
SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Köln-Sülz · 2.4 km

Nimmt neue Patienten auf4.9
Gesetzlich ✓
Neue Patienten
JB

Dr. Bergmann

1.2 km

AVAILABILITY FIRST

Discover

Filter chips, green dots, and doctor cards — the whole search rebuilt around one question: who is open?

JB
TR
SM
KL
WH
Köln-Ehrenfeld
3 Praxen in der Nähe
JB

Dr. Bergmann

1.2 km

TR

Dr. Richter

1.8 km

JB
TR
SM
SPATIAL AWARENESS

Explore

Map pins drop where real practices stand. Teal means open. Gray means full. No guessing.

Profil
SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Allgemeinmedizin

DEENTR

Nimmt neue Patienten auf

Seit März 2026

4.8 ⭐

127 Bewertungen

~12 Min

Ø Wartezeit

Seit 2011

Niedergelassen

Gesetzlich versichert ✓

Akzeptiert alle gesetzlichen Kassen

Anfrage senden →
4.8 ⭐
~12 Min
Kompatibel ✓
TRUST AT A GLANCE

Evaluate

Stats, insurance match, and reviews — everything a patient needs to decide, in one scroll.

Anfrage senden1 von 2
SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Nimmt auf

Versicherung

Gesetzlich — AOK Rheinland
Kompatibel ✓

Was ist der Grund?

🏠Neuer Hausarzt
📋Überweisung
🤒Akute Beschwerden
Weiter →
🏠 Neuer Hausarzt
AOK Rheinland ✓
Weiter →
REPLACING THE CALL

Request

Insurance auto-verified. Reason pre-selected. What took 10 calls now takes 3 taps.

Anfrage gesendet!

Dr. med. Sarah Müller wird sich innerhalb von 48 Stunden melden.

SM

Dr. med. Sarah Müller

Allgemeinmedizin · Köln-Ehrenfeld

GrundNeuer Hausarzt
VersicherungAOK Rheinland
StatusAusstehend
Zurück zur Suche
CERTAINTY

Confirmed

Request sent. Response guaranteed within 48 hours. The anxiety ends here.

Praxis

availability first · replacing the call · certainty

04 — The Solution
🟢

Takes New Patients

Real-time availability status

Insurance Pre-Matched

Automatic compatibility check

Request in 90 Seconds

No phone call required

10+ phone calls0 calls needed
35 minutes wasted90 seconds total
No one tells you who acceptsLive availability, always

What if finding a doctor felt like this?

This is what would make patients happy in Germany.

now scroll
THE OLD WAY
0:00
minutes
Rejected
Rejected
Rejected
Rejected
Rejected
WITH PRAXIS
1:00
seconds
Filtered
Selected
Sent

35 minutes. 10 calls. Hope.

90 seconds. Zero calls. Certainty.

Praxis
|

The future of finding care.