Alma

Alma Telehealth

9 months, 3 strategies, 12+ features shipped. An iterative suite of features aimed at improving the quality and engagement of virtual therapy sessions.

 

SCOPE

  • Product design

  • Mobile DESIGN

  • Systems thinking

business impact

Transformed Alma Telehealth into a best-in-class mental health tool — driving 20.3% growth of monthly active users in 9 months.

 

Background

In July 2024, Alma launched their own telehealth platform for providers to use during their therapy sessions. The initial launch underperformed due to its poor call quality and lack of critical features, and adoption suffered significantly as a result.

Given my experience in systems thinking, my new team and I were tasked to drive adoption, quality, and satisfaction of Alma Telehealth, while innovating on how we might differentiate ourselves as a premium video platform for mental health professionals.

Below are just a few of the milestones and impact delivered in the 9 months between November 2024 - July 2025.

 

STRATEGY 1

Mobile layout optimization

The original launch was not optimized for mobile users, which made up 30% of all clients on Alma Telehealth. Feedback from clients highlighted numerous issues, which made this area ripe for opportunity and impact.

Problem Theme 1—

Layouts didn't prioritize participant videos

Poor video aspect ratio and distracting UI components in the browser made it difficult for providers and clients to be completely engaged.

Problem Theme 2 —

Mobile settings were inaccessible

From an accessibility standpoint, interactions originally designed for desktop experiences didn't translate well for mobile users.

Problem Theme 3 —

Certain features weren't available in mobile

The Alma telehealth platform was built to work for some devices and browers, therefore certain features weren't available to mobile users.

Solutions

  • Improve "Focused" and "Gallery" layouts in mobile to reduce distractions and maximize mobile screen real estate.

  • Create a new settings entry point in the action bar, and consolidate the settings into a single mobile menu.

  • Hide features unavailable in mobile and educate mobile users on how to have the best experience.

STRATEGY 2

Improve telehealth quality

The most common complaint we heard from our post-session feedback form was about technical issues related to the video, audio, and general quality of the calls. These led to multiple interruptions, which ultimately resulted in poor, disruptive sessions.

1 — Network strength indicator

Show users whether their own network strength was weak, good, or excellent so they can adjust their technical setup if needed.

2 — Joining without A/V

Allow users to enter the call without video/audio to reduce join friction, while introducing smarter errors, system messaging and call to actions for users to quickly resolve their permissions.

3 — Testing A/V

Introduce a settings modal so providers and clients can test their speakers, microphone, and camera before and during a session.

STRATEGY 3

Reach competitor parity

Before we actively drove new adoption, we needed to deliver several features that our competitors already had in their telehealth players.

1 — Virtual backgrounds

In addition to “Blur” background, users can update their video backgrounds to a more professional environment.

2 — Whiteboarding

A collaboration tool for providers who utilize hands-on engagement with clients, such as in child or adolescent therapy.

3 — “Note Assist” AI integration

A voice-to-text AI tool that converts sessions into compliant progress notes, making documentation faster and easier.

This increased our Alma Telehealth monthly active users by 9.7%+ in April 2025.

4 — Make it the system default

Let providers set Alma Telehealth as their default video conference option, and automatically default it for all new Alma members.

This feature alone increased our new monthly active Alma Telehealth users by 10.6%+ of our total member base in July 2025.

 

The results

We hit all of our quality, satisfaction, and monthly active users goals.

  • 20%+ increase in satisfaction from 71% to 91%+

  • 10%+ increase in quality scores from 79% to 89%+

  • Closed the feature gaps to reach 100% competitor parity 

  • 20.3%+ overall increase in monthly active users from 24.9% to 45.2% of membership base (between January and August 2025)