Reason for Visit: helping clinicians book their first appointment.
Led a high-stakes product initiative that increased first-appointment activation by 19 percentage points while navigating a clinician trust crisis and regulatory concerns.
On this page 7 sections
The context
BRIEFINGTrial users at SimplePractice—especially new or solo clinicians—struggled to reach the “Aha! moment”: creating their first client appointment. Internal analytics revealed that fewer than 42% of trialers scheduled a session in their first 7 days, a major barrier to activation and conversion.
Our hypothesis: clinicians weren’t ready to create appointments because they were missing key intake context—specifically, understanding why a client was reaching out.
Research & insights
RECONWe launched a user research initiative focused on early-stage private practice clinicians. Our research combined quantitative surveys (N = 734), qualitative interviews (12 in-depth sessions), and funnel analysis from sign-up to first appointment.
The solution
OPERATIONSIntroduce “Reason for Visit” during client intake
We scoped and released a lightweight “Reason for Visit” field in the initial client intake form.
- Let clients share their therapy goals or concerns
- Gave clinicians immediate context before booking
- Was legally reviewed and included clear disclaimers
- Included toggles for clinician control
Rollout & instrumentation
- Canary release. Implemented across ~5% of new accounts.
- Monitoring. Watched for performance, abandonment, and CS tickets.
- Staged rollout. Rolled out in stages over 4 weeks.
User concerns
SITUATIONFollowing the release, we received increased feedback from users through social media, support tickets, and direct communication highlighting important concerns:
- Clinicians were uncomfortable with liability exposure (e.g. client mentions suicidal ideation pre-screening)
- Others were upset this was enabled by default
- Several called out lack of communication and settings control
Support tickets and community posts per day following feature release. Peak volume hit on day 7 before stabilizing.
Response & resolution
DAMAGE CONTROL- Spoke to clinicians 1:1 and on public threads
- Partnered with legal to clarify disclaimers and update copy
- Released Vacation Mode so clinicians could pause intake
- Made “Reason for Visit” fully opt-in, with onboarding prompts
- Enabled the feature retroactively as a recommended setting for new signups
Outcomes
AFTER-ACTIONImpact metrics
Measured outcomes after rollout and resolution.
Why it mattered
DEBRIEFValidated a real user need with data and empathy.
Handled backlash without blaming users.
Balanced legal, user trust, and product goals.
Shipped, learned, adapted fast.
Let’s talk about product growth.
I specialize in product-led growth strategies that improve conversion through systematic experimentation and user-focused design.