CareOS
CareOS is the clinical platform behind Summer Health — where pediatricians respond to parents, review records, and manage care at scale. If the parent-facing app is designed for calm and reassurance, CareOS is built for speed, clarity, and clinical focus.
The challenge
Before CareOS, clinicians used an internal tool that was basically an engineering artifact with a UI slapped on it. Important context was buried. Irrelevant context was surfaced. The interface added cognitive load at exactly the moments when care required clarity.
This is the story of every EHR clinicians have ever used. They learn workarounds because they have no choice — but the tools don't help them think better or care better. They just get in the way.
CareOS needed to be the opposite: remove noise, reduce stress, and support clinicians so they can support parents.
What I did
I designed CareOS from scratch — architecture, workflows, interaction model, everything. I built it for both desktop and mobile because clinicians work in different environments: desktop for handling multiple chats and reviewing records, mobile for quick responses on the go.
I ran deep research with pediatricians to understand their cognitive load, safety requirements, and daily rhythms. Then I introduced AI-assisted workflows that actually help without getting in the way — pre-filled notes, chat summaries, proactive care nudges, ICD code predictions. Each one reduces friction while keeping clinicians in full control.
(All screenshots use dummy data. HIPAA and all that.)
Designing for clinicians, not against them
CareOS serves pediatricians and a network of specialists — lactation, nutrition, behavioral health, sleep — each with different patterns and pressures. To understand their needs, I ran interviews, facilitated FigJam sessions, and dogfooded early prototypes internally.
A clear theme emerged: every tool they'd used before was cluttered, inconsistent, and mentally exhausting. Not because clinicians are picky, but because the tools were designed around database structures instead of human workflows.
So I started from first principles. What does a clinician actually need to see when they pick up a case? What can we hide until it's relevant? What decisions are they making, and how can the interface support those decisions instead of obscuring them?
Principles tuned for clinical work
CareOS shares DNA with the parent-facing product, but the priorities shift:
Default helpful. Surface the right context at the right time. Don't make clinicians hunt for information.
Action-oriented. Reduce friction so clinicians can solve problems quickly and move on. Speed matters here in a way it doesn't on the parent side.
Deeply personal. Respect the trust parents place in us by keeping the experience clear and accurate. Mistakes in clinical tools have real consequences.
Human connection. Support the empathy clinicians bring to every interaction. The tool shouldn't get in the way of that.
The design system: Sunset
CareOS uses its own design system called Sunset, separate from Sunrise (the consumer system). Sunset isn't optimized for emotional warmth — it's optimized for pace and accuracy:
- High-contrast typography for fast scanning
- Unambiguous CTAs that don't require interpretation
- Compact spacing without clutter
- Consistent patterns that reduce errors
Sunset ensures that as we ship new features, the clinician experience stays stable and predictable. Clinicians shouldn't have to relearn the interface every time we update something.
AI that stays out of the way
AI in CareOS isn't a feature to show off. It's support. It helps clinicians work faster without sacrificing accuracy or control.
Here's what it does:
- Pre-filled medical notes. Based on the chat transcript, AI drafts notes that providers can review and edit before sending. Saves time on documentation without removing human judgment.
- Chat summaries. When a clinician picks up a case, they get a quick summary of what's happened so far. No scrolling through history to get context.
- Proactive care nudges. Drafts follow-up messages triggered by age, last visit, and previous encounters. Clinicians review and send — or don't.
- ICD code predictions. Predicts codes based on the conversation. Clinicians confirm before submitting for insurance. Reduces the billing headache.
Each tool gives clinicians a head start. None of them make decisions without human approval.
Mobile
CareOS on mobile lets clinicians respond from anywhere with full access to patient context. It's not a dumbed-down version — it's optimized for different tasks. Quick responses, fast context, easy triage.
What changed
- Clinicians respond faster because the tool doesn't slow them down.
- Patient context is actually visible when it matters.
- Care summaries are more consistent across providers.
- Clinicians describe the tool as relieving instead of stressful. (That's not a small thing in healthcare software.)
- CareOS became the backbone of Summer Health — the system that makes 24/7 pediatric care possible.
CareOS doesn't need to be warm. It needs to be fast, clear, and reliable. The design stays out of the way so providers can focus on what matters: caring for kids.