Case study: Building the foundation for a modern provider portal

As a leading multi-state dental benefits provider looked to modernize its provider portal, the organization recognized that a successful transformation would require more than new technology. The portal served as a critical touch point for providers, administrators, and internal teams, supporting complex workflows across claims, benefits, and financial operations.

Before moving into implementation, the organization needed a clearer understanding of user needs, technical constraints, and strategic priorities to ensure future investments delivered meaningful improvements.

Creed partnered with the organization to lead a comprehensive Discovery Phase, creating a validated foundation for a future provider experience platform.

The challenge

The existing provider experience had evolved over time, creating friction for providers while making it more difficult for the organization to meet its long-term digital goals.

To support future modernization efforts, the organization needed to:

• Better understand provider workflows and pain points
• Align internal stakeholders around future-state priorities
• Assess the feasibility of integrating existing systems and third-party services
• Validate key functionality before development began
• Establish a strategic roadmap to guide future investment decisions

The goal was to reduce implementation risk while creating a provider experience capable of evolving alongside business and user needs.

Building a research-driven foundation

Creed began by conducting in-depth interviews with provider office staff and internal stakeholders to understand how users interacted with existing systems and where opportunities for improvement existed.

This research informed the creation of user personas and journey maps, giving stakeholders a clearer picture of how provider needs intersected with business priorities.

In parallel, Creed’s technical strategists conducted a high-level review of the organization’s technology ecosystem, evaluating current systems, integration requirements, and opportunities for future enhancement. This work helped identify technical considerations and dependencies that would influence future implementation decisions.

Using insights gathered through research and technical analysis, Creed developed a strategic roadmap outlining recommended functionality, implementation priorities, budget considerations, and key milestones.

Recommended capabilities included:

• Enhanced provider registration and profile management
• Real-time claims submission and pre-determination workflows
• Expanded financial self-service capabilities
• Improved access to member and benefits information
• Enhanced integrations with external systems and partners

Validating concepts before implementation

To reduce development risk and build stakeholder confidence, Creed translated research findings into a low-fidelity prototype representing key user workflows and future-state functionality.

The prototype was tested directly with provider representatives, helping the team confirm assumptions and make targeted refinements before implementation planning began.

This approach created alignment across stakeholders while ensuring that future investments would be grounded in real user needs.

“The new provider portal was designed with our providers in mind. By incorporating feedback from dentists and their office staff, Creed helped create an experience we’re confident will benefit practices across our network.”

– Dental Director for multi-state dental benefits provider

By investing in Discovery first, the organization gained the clarity and confidence needed to move forward strategically, establishing a strong foundation for a modern provider experience that can evolve alongside changing business and user needs.

If your organization is planning a complex portal modernization initiative, we’d be happy to discuss what a research-driven approach could look like.