Bad Cigna: Do Not Let The Marketing Folk Take Over Usability

The following screen grabs are probably violations of some TOS. I say this because in order to view doctor's in the health plan involved a -3- page legal screen had to be agreed to. Ala Microsoft (who used to have in one of the FrontPage versions an agreement that you wouldn't use FP to make a website that said bad things about FP) it probably said not to do this.

Anyway, do a simple search of specialty doctors in a zip code. Get good results:



Having had experience with many, many sites that don't print well, I do as trained and click the printer icon.

Except it's an evil twin of the printer icon we have all come to know and, if not love, at least recognize.

Instead of getting a printer friendly version of the data I was viewing I get a huge PDF file.

The problems?

1. There's no warning it will open a PDF. Good thing I've updated my Acrobat installation lately or instead of seeing the PDF I would see an ocean of update warnings from Acrobat.
2. I think it's a PDF in an iframe, which doesn't even need discussing.
3. It's not the same information.
4. The details are gone.

• Need distance from base zip code? Sorry, data dropped. New sort (last name) applied.
• The quality and cost efficiency data? Nope, who needs that in the print version? Not you!
• If I needed someone in the "Cigna Care Network", I wouldn't be able to see that classification anymore.
• Want a specialist? Not that I'm sure why a search for dermatologists gave non-specialists in the first place, but if we need someone who is actually a board certified dermatologist, won't find that in the print version.
• Care about gender? Too bad. Guess what those first names mean!

Additionally, to add insult to injury:

1. The original page is actually (thank goodness) coded to print just fine w/o using the evil-print-icon-twin
2. The PDF is bloated with an additional -6- pages beyond the asked for results. Two of those page marketing junk. Three are legal junk. One is a list of all hospitals in the US that are part of the Cigna transplant network?

So, let me get this straight.

Not needed in a list of doctors -- location ranking, quality ranking, gender, specialty status, or CIGNA network status.

Essentially needed in every list of doctors - 3 pages of legal junk and 2 pages on transplants. Got it. Evidently every single medical need ends in an organ transplant. Good to know-- we can all stop worrying about tylenol and our livers, because according to Cigna everyone needs an organ transplant anyway! Wait, that's not what Cigna meant? Well, why do they force this stuff down everyone's throat?

Ohhh, of course. Marketing/Legal/CEO Initiative said so.

Honestly? Keep marketing/legal/ceo initiative out of the room if you can't rein them in with things like usability studies, user surveys, best practices or even a focus group. This is ludicrous.

If you know the answer is going to be evil, don't ask the question. 'Cause I promise you, they aren't going to notice these pages didn't print like this unless you point it out.

PS to Cigna, please also stop with the mystery meat password rules. Say the rules from the beginning so that I don't have to try a password you won't accept. (Cigna, sorry forgot to get a screen grab, was particularly bad in that the set password field had some rules... but not ALL the rules, which sets you up for failure unless you're some sort of security fiend who uses two numbers, two small letters, two capitals, and 2 symbols in every password.)