ChatGPT answers, unedited

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• AbelsonTaylor, Inc. - The Old Post Office, 433 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Matchnode - 318 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Abelson Taylor - 33 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d put the emphasis on agencies that can handle more than visual redesign: patient UX, accessibility, HIPAA-conscious implementation, and integration with your existing patient portal/EHR.

Agencies worth putting on the shortlist

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St, Chicago. Strong fit if the project is primarily a sophisticated website/UX redesign. Their work includes UX discovery, user flows and web-app/portal experiences, and they have healthcare/regulated-industry experience.
• Orbit Media — Chicago agency with a dedicated healthcare web practice. They explicitly describe integrating patient portals and EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. This is one of the clearest matches to your integration requirement. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

• Taction Software Solutions — 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago. More engineering-oriented than a typical design agency. Their Chicago operation focuses on healthcare software, EHR/EMR interoperability and integrations across clinical and administrative systems. Consider them if the portal integration is technically complicated rather than simply linking to an existing portal.
• Radical Software — particularly interesting because it has a documented Chicago-area family healthcare clinic project involving patient-portal access and appointment scheduling. The project used a modern Next.js/TypeScript stack and specifically included patient portal integration. Radical Software

theradicalsoftware.com

• Intex Agency — offers healthcare web design with patient portal integration, appointment-booking UX and HIPAA-aware architecture. It could be worth including if you're looking for a smaller-agency approach rather than a large healthcare consultancy. Intex Agency

intex-agency.com

• Flamingo Agency — explicitly targets small clinics and private practices, with medical website redesigns, patient portals, scheduling and mobile forms. Their positioning appears more geared toward a relatively straightforward practice-site redesign than a bespoke healthcare software project. Flamingo Agency

flamingoagency.com

How I'd structure the RFP

For your particular project, I'd ask each agency to respond to the same five questions:

1. Have you integrated our specific portal/EHR before? Give the exact product and describe what was integrated versus simply linked.
2. How will PHI flow? Ask them to diagram whether the new site ever handles PHI or simply hands patients off to the vendor's secure portal.
3. What accessibility standard do you target? I'd ask for WCAG 2.2 AA rather than accepting a generic claim of "ADA compliant."
4. Who owns the code, hosting and integrations after launch?
5. What is the cost of a redesign without rebuilding the underlying portal?

For a small clinic, I'd be particularly wary of paying an agency to rebuild functionality that your existing EHR/patient-portal vendor already provides. In many cases, the better architecture is a polished public-facing site with a very clear, secure handoff into the existing portal.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR you use (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to a 3-agency shortlist and compare likely fit, integration experience, and Chicago location.

• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011
• PatientUp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• AbelsonTaylor, Inc. - The Old Post Office, 433 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d focus on agencies that can handle both the redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration, rather than a conventional marketing agency that only builds a brochure site.

Chicago-area agencies to put on the shortlist

• Taction Software Solutions — 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago. More engineering/integration-oriented than a pure design shop. Their Chicago operation focuses on healthcare integrations, EHR/EMR connectivity, HL7/FHIR, patient-facing portals and telemedicine. That makes them worth considering if the portal integration is a substantial part of the project.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — 1 E Erie St, Chicago. Healthcare-specialized agency with website design/development and patient-acquisition expertise. Better fit if the redesign is primarily about improving the patient journey, branding, SEO and appointment conversion, with an existing portal remaining the clinical system.
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. — Downers Grove. Healthcare-focused digital/web agency offering medical website development and HIPAA-oriented web work. A potentially sensible option for a smaller practice that doesn't need a large custom software build.
• HiveSourced — 230 E Ohio St, Chicago. A boutique Chicago web-development firm focused on healthcare practices, particularly mental-health practices, with HIPAA-oriented forms/communications and portal-related capabilities. I'd consider them if your clinic is relatively small and the portal integration is straightforward.
• PatientEdge, Inc. — 1165 N Clark St, Chicago. Healthcare/practice-growth focused, combining website work with patient acquisition and digital patient-journey services.

One especially relevant case study

Taction Software Solutions is the kind of firm I'd interview if your requirement is more than simply putting a “Patient Portal” button on the new site.

For comparison, Chicago agency orbitmedia.com explicitly describes integrating patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. Orbit Media Studios

There's also a useful Chicago healthcare website case study from Radical Software: it rebuilt a family-medicine clinic website with patient-portal access and appointment scheduling, which is quite close to your use case. Radical Software

What I'd put in the RFP

Ask every agency to respond specifically to:

1. Your existing portal/EHR: exact platform and whether they've integrated with it before.
2. Integration boundary: whether the website merely links patients to the portal or exchanges data through FHIR/HL7/API.
3. HIPAA/BAA: who signs the BAA and which vendors/subprocessors touch patient information.
4. Patient UX: mobile appointment booking, portal login, prescription/results access, forms and accessibility.
5. Staff workflow: whether online forms and scheduling actually reduce front-desk work rather than creating another inbox.
6. Analytics: what they can measure without exposing PHI.
7. Ongoing support: post-launch maintenance and responsibility when the EHR/portal vendor changes its API.

I would not choose an agency based simply on its claim that a website is “HIPAA compliant.” The important question is how PHI moves between the public site, portal, scheduling system and EHR.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic currently uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly your redesign budget, I can narrow this to a more targeted Chicago shortlist.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in The Loop (Chicago) needing a website redesign plus patient portal integration, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare workflows—not just visual design. The key capabilities to screen for are:

• Experience integrating with your existing EHR/EMR or patient portal (Epic, MyChart, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.)
• HIPAA-aware handling of forms, scheduling, messaging, and analytics
• ADA accessibility
• Mobile-first patient UX (appointments, directions, forms, portal login)
• Clear ownership of the website, content, and data

Here are Chicago-area firms worth considering:

Healthcare-focused website redesign partners

Orbit Media Studios

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4581)

A strong option if you need a polished redesign, content strategy, SEO foundation, and integrations. Orbit specifically markets healthcare website work and mentions integrations with patient portals/EHRs such as Epic, Cerner, and Athenahealth. Orbit Media Studios

Good fit for:

• Established clinics wanting a modern, trustworthy site
• Complex content needs (providers, services, patient education)
• Accessibility and conversion improvements

Flamingo Agency

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-967-7044)

Focused on medical websites for small clinics and private practices. Their services emphasize WordPress healthcare sites, scheduling, patient portals, and patient-focused design. Flamingo Agency

Good fit for:

• Smaller practices
• Faster redesign projects
• Clinics that want easier internal editing after launch

Radical Software

Has healthcare website case work involving patient portal access and appointment scheduling workflows. Radical Software

Good fit for:

• Clinics that want more custom development
• Practices with unique workflows beyond a standard marketing site

Evolve Healthcare Marketing

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-260-1121)

Healthcare-focused agency in Chicago with website design/development and patient acquisition services.

Good fit for:

• Clinics that need both redesign and ongoing growth marketing
• Practices focused on increasing appointment requests

PatientEdge, Inc.

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-584-9737)

Healthcare-focused company serving private practices with website development, scheduling, and patient engagement capabilities.

Good fit for:

• Practices wanting a patient-growth platform approach
• Clinics interested in ongoing digital patient engagement

More technical / custom integration-oriented options

Taction Software Solutions

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 307-459-0850)

A software-focused firm with healthcare application and integration experience, including EHR/EMR integrations and patient-facing platforms.

Good fit for:

• Custom portals
• Complex integrations
• Clinics building something beyond a normal website

My suggested shortlist for a small Loop clinic

I’d probably request proposals from:

1. Orbit Media — if the priority is a high-quality redesign with healthcare UX and integrations. Orbit Media Studios
2. Flamingo Agency — if you want a practical small-clinic redesign with portal/scheduling needs. Flamingo Agency
3. Radical Software — if your portal workflow needs custom development. Radical Software
4. Taction Software Solutions — if the project involves deeper EHR, API, or custom software work.

Before hiring, I’d ask each agency:

• “Which patient portals have you integrated with?”
• “Have you worked with our EHR vendor?”
• “Will any PHI pass through the website, and how is that handled?”
• “Who owns the code, hosting account, analytics, and content?”
• “Can you show two healthcare projects launched in the last 2–3 years?”

If you tell me the clinic type (primary care, dental, specialty, behavioral health, etc.), current EHR/patient portal, and approximate budget, I can narrow this to 3–5 best-fit vendors.

• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientUp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand both patient UX and healthcare-system integration, rather than a general web-design shop.

My shortlist

• TXI — Best for a sophisticated redesign/integration. Chicago-based product consultancy with strong UX, user research, custom software, and digital-health experience. A good choice if the patient portal needs to feel like part of a redesigned patient journey rather than simply a “Portal” button on the website.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best for technical integration. Their Chicago team works on healthcare software, EHR/EMR integrations, patient-facing portals, and healthcare applications. I'd consider them if your portal needs deeper integration with scheduling, EHR, messaging, or other systems.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Best healthcare-focused agency option. Chicago-based and specifically focused on healthcare marketing, including website design/development and patient acquisition. More appropriate if the redesign is primarily about improving the clinic's web presence and appointment conversion.
• PatientUp — Best for a smaller private practice wanting marketing + digital presence. They focus specifically on private medical/dental practices, combining branding, website work, and patient acquisition.
• WebToMed, LLC — Worth including if you want a healthcare-specialist rather than a generalist. They focus on medical website development and also advertise custom web applications and healthcare-oriented technology work.

Two particularly relevant benchmarks

Pivot Design is another Chicago healthcare specialist, although I'd lean toward them more for brand/strategy/creative than for the technical portal integration itself.

For evidence of what I'd want in the actual project scope, Orbit Media is a useful benchmark: its healthcare practice explicitly discusses integrating patient portals/EHRs such as Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH, accessibility and patient UX. Orbit Media Studios

There's also a very directly relevant Chicago-area example from Radical Software: they built a family-clinic site with patient-portal access and appointment scheduling. The Radical Software

How I'd choose

For your situation, I'd probably interview TXI, Taction, and Evolve first. Give all three the same brief:

Redesign the public website, improve mobile patient UX, integrate our existing patient portal, streamline appointment conversion, and maintain a strict boundary between marketing-site data and PHI.

Then ask them specifically:

1. Which portal/EHR integrations have you actually implemented?
2. Will the portal be embedded, deep-linked, or accessed through an authenticated integration?
3. Who is responsible for the HIPAA/security architecture and BAA requirements?
4. Can you show a healthcare redesign where you improved patient task completion, not just visual design?
5. How will accessibility (WCAG/ADA) be tested?
6. What happens to the integration if we change EHR/portal vendors later?

One important distinction: don't let an agency casually put appointment forms, symptoms, insurance details, or other PHI into ordinary website forms. A strong architecture should route sensitive interactions into the appropriate secure portal/infrastructure. That's also the approach explicitly described by healthcare-focused agencies such as Doctive. Doctive.org Doctive.org

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR you're currently using (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, etc.) and roughly what you want to spend, I can narrow this to the 3 best-fit Chicago agencies and compare them on integration capability, healthcare experience, likely budget, and project fit.

• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Tekneq // Digital Strategy - 4136 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d shortlist agencies that can do more than make the site look better—especially patient-portal/EHR integration, accessibility, HIPAA-aware implementation, scheduling, and patient UX.

My shortlist

• Sandstorm Design — Best for patient-centered UX. Chicago-based and has healthcare experience, including UX research and work on Rush Health. Their approach is particularly strong if the problem is that patients struggle to find information or move between the public website and authenticated resources. Sandstorm Design
• Solid Digital — Best all-around web/UX option. Downtown Chicago agency with strong website, UX/UI and portal experience. I'd consider them if you want a polished redesign plus a solid technical implementation rather than a marketing-only engagement.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best if integration is the hard part. Their Chicago operation focuses on healthcare software, EHR/EMR integration, patient-facing portals and healthcare interoperability. This makes them worth considering if your patient portal needs to connect deeply with your existing systems rather than simply linking to an external portal.
• YourPortal — Potentially a good fit for a smaller practice. They're Chicago-based and combine website redesign, development and ongoing optimization, which may be more practical for a small clinic than a large healthcare consultancy.
• Orbit Media — Strongest documented match for your specific requirements. Their healthcare practice explicitly discusses integrating websites with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility and UX. Their healthcare portfolio includes Chicago-area work. Orbit Media Studios
• Radical Software — Worth getting a proposal from if you want a smaller technical team. They have a Chicago clinic project that specifically included patient portal access and appointment scheduling, using a modern web stack. The Radical Software

If it were my clinic

I'd invite Orbit Media, Sandstorm Design, and Radical Software to pitch, with Taction as a fourth bidder if the portal/EHR integration is technically complicated.

The key is to give all four the same brief and ask them to demonstrate:

1. How they'd integrate the existing portal rather than unnecessarily rebuilding it.
2. Experience with your specific EHR/portal—e.g. Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, Cerner, etc.
3. HIPAA/security responsibilities and what they will and won't handle.
4. WCAG/ADA accessibility and mobile usability.
5. Appointment scheduling, forms, messaging and other patient workflows.
6. How they'll prevent patients from getting confused between "New patient", "Schedule appointment", and "Existing patient / Portal."
7. Ongoing hosting, security updates and support costs.

One particularly useful benchmark: Orbit explicitly says it integrates healthcare sites with existing patient portals/EHRs and addresses HIPAA, HITECH and ADA requirements, while Radical Software has an actual clinic case study involving portal access and scheduling. Orbit Media Studios The Radical Software

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses and roughly what budget you have ($10–25k, $25–50k, etc.), I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and explain why each fits.

• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Matchnode - 318 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Abelson Taylor - 33 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Productive Edge - 205 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the redesign and the healthcare-system integration—not just make the site prettier.

My shortlist

• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — A healthcare-focused Chicago agency. Worth considering if patient acquisition, SEO, and ongoing marketing are important alongside the redesign.
• UX 4Sight — Based in the Loop and particularly interesting if patient UX is the priority. Their work centers on UX research, web/app interfaces, and usability; they also have healthcare experience. Dribbble
• Clique Studios — A stronger choice if this is a substantial digital transformation rather than a simple WordPress refresh. They combine strategy, UX, engineering, content, accessibility, and marketing.
• Orbit Media Studios — Probably my first call for a sophisticated healthcare website. Their healthcare practice explicitly covers patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, plus HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, UX and integrations. Orbit Media Studios
• Radical Software — Particularly relevant because they have a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic case study involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling. That's unusually close to your project. The Radical Software
• Medico Growth — A healthcare-specific Chicago web agency that explicitly offers redesigns, patient-portal integration, appointment integrations, healthcare UX, and SEO. It may be a better fit than a large agency for a smaller practice. Medico Growth
• Flamingo Agency — Another option I'd investigate for a smaller budget. They specifically market to small clinics/private practices and offer WordPress redesigns, appointment scheduling, patient portals and mobile-friendly forms. Flamingo Agency

Who I'd interview first

For your particular brief, I'd narrow it to Orbit Media, Radical Software, Medico Growth, and UX 4Sight.

I'd evaluate them on four things:

1. Your actual portal/EHR: Ask them to name prior integrations with your specific system—not merely say "we integrate patient portals."
2. HIPAA architecture: Make sure they understand what information should never pass through the marketing website and how the portal handoff is secured.
3. Patient UX: Test the proposed flow for “I'm an existing patient,” “I need an appointment,” and “I'm a new patient.”
4. Accessibility: Require WCAG-oriented testing rather than accepting a generic claim of being “ADA compliant.”

One especially useful RFP question would be: “Show us a healthcare redesign where you improved the patient journey while integrating an existing EHR/patient portal, and explain exactly what your agency built versus what the EHR vendor provided.”

That question should separate genuine healthcare integration experience from agencies that simply put a “Patient Portal” button on a website.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than a visual redesign—specifically patient UX, portal/EHR integration, accessibility, and HIPAA-sensitive data flows.

My shortlist

• Solid Digital — Best overall for UX + polished redesign. Their Chicago team does website strategy, UX/UI, web applications and portal-style experiences, and has healthcare/regulated-industry experience.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best if the portal integration is technically complex. They specifically work on healthcare software, EHR/EMR integration, patient-facing portals and interoperability.
• YourPortal — Worth considering for a smaller-budget web/marketing engagement, particularly if the portal itself already exists and you mainly need a better front-end experience.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Best if patient acquisition is a major goal. They're healthcare-specialized and combine website development with patient-acquisition marketing.

I'd also put Orbit Media on the RFP list. It's particularly relevant because it explicitly describes healthcare work involving patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, plus HIPAA, HITECH and ADA considerations. Orbit Media Studios

One particularly relevant case study

Radical Software has a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic project that included patient-portal integration, appointment scheduling and a redesigned patient experience. That's unusually close to your use case, so I'd at least interview them even though I'd want to vet their current scale and integration capabilities. Radical Software

How I'd choose

For your project, I'd score proposals roughly like this:

My first three calls would be Solid Digital, Orbit Media, and Taction. If your existing portal is something like Epic MyChart, athenahealth, or another vendor portal and you're mainly trying to create a seamless “website → appointment → portal” journey, I'd make the integration experience the deciding factor rather than choosing based on visual design alone.

If you tell me which EHR/patient-portal system the clinic uses and your approximate redesign budget (e.g. $15–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their likely fit.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Kalipr, LLC - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX and can integrate with your existing EHR/patient portal—not just agencies that make attractive websites.

My shortlist

• Solid Digital — Best overall UX/web candidate. Chicago-based, with strong web design, UX/UI, development, and ongoing digital capabilities. I’d consider them if the redesign needs to feel substantially more modern while still being technically solid.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best for a technically complex portal integration. Their Chicago team specifically works on healthcare software, EHR/EMR integrations, patient-facing portals, and interoperability. Wve Labs
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Best for a clinic that also needs patient acquisition. They focus on healthcare and offer website design/development alongside SEO and marketing.
• Sandstorm Design — Best for patient-centered UX research and accessibility. They're a Chicago digital experience/UX agency with healthcare experience, so I'd shortlist them if the problem is as much patient journey and usability as visual design.
• WebToMed, LLC — Best healthcare-specialist option. They focus specifically on medical websites and patient acquisition, with additional custom web-application capabilities.

One agency I'd interview even though it's a different type

Orbit Media has a particularly relevant healthcare web practice. It explicitly discusses integrating patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH and ADA requirements. Orbit Media Studios

That makes them a strong candidate if your project is primarily "redesign our public website and connect it cleanly to our existing portal" rather than "build us a new clinical application."

How I'd narrow it down

For a small Loop clinic, I'd send an RFP to 3 firms:

1. Orbit Media — website + portal/EHR integration
2. Sandstorm Design — UX/accessibility/patient journey
3. Taction — deeper integration/engineering

I'd ask each one to demonstrate one comparable healthcare project, explain exactly what they would integrate with (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, etc.), and spell out how they handle PHI, HIPAA/BAAs, accessibility, analytics, authentication, and portal handoff.

One important distinction: don't accept "HIPAA-compliant website" as a sufficient answer. The agency should explain where PHI lives and what happens when a patient moves from the public site into the portal. For example, some healthcare agencies explicitly separate the public marketing site from the secure patient-data environment. Doctive.org

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (e.g. MyChart/Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly your budget ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to the 3 strongest Chicago firms and compare them on integration experience, likely fit, and cost.

• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA/privacy considerations, EHR or patient portal integrations, accessibility, and conversion flows (appointment requests, intake forms, portal login, messaging). A good redesign is usually less about a “pretty website” and more about creating a reliable digital front door for patients. Chicago-area options worth evaluating:

Strong healthcare-focused candidates

appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC

DirectionsWebsite

Best fit if you want a healthcare-specialist partner rather than a general web shop. They position themselves around healthcare organizations and offer website, digital strategy, and technology services.

Consider them for:

• Medical practice website redesign
• Patient acquisition improvements
• Healthcare-specific workflows
• Practices that need guidance connecting marketing and operations

Orbit Media Studios

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4581)

A strong UX/web strategy agency with healthcare experience. They specifically discuss healthcare website work, including secure integrations with systems such as patient portals and EHR platforms. Orbit Media Studios

Consider them for:

• Modern, accessible redesign
• Better patient navigation
• Content strategy
• Integrating an existing portal/EHR without rebuilding everything

Taction Software Solutions

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 307-459-0850)

More of a software/integration-oriented option. Their Chicago presence and healthcare technology focus make them worth considering if the project involves deeper custom development.

Consider them for:

• Custom patient-facing tools
• Complex integrations
• EHR/EMR interoperability work
• Clinics that want more than a marketing website

Evolve Healthcare Marketing

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-260-1121)

A healthcare-focused marketing agency that also handles website projects.

Consider them for:

• Increasing new patient leads
• Local SEO
• Conversion-focused redesign
• Ongoing growth after launch

PatientEdge, Inc.

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-584-9737)

Focused on medical practices and patient growth, with website and patient communication capabilities.

Consider them for:

• Small private practices
• Scheduling improvements
• Patient engagement workflows

If your portal integration is the hardest part

Before hiring an agency, clarify what “patient portal integration” means:

• Simple: Add a secure “Patient Portal” button linking to Epic MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.
• Medium: Embed scheduling, forms, payments, messaging, or appointment requests.
• Complex: Build custom workflows, connect APIs, sync patient data, or create a custom patient app.

For example, agencies experienced with healthcare integrations may need to work alongside your EHR vendor rather than replace it. Chicago healthcare organizations have seen patient engagement improve when portals are integrated into broader digital access strategies rather than treated as a standalone link. Healthcare IT News Athenahealth

My shortlist for a small Loop clinic

1. Orbit Media — best for a polished redesign + UX + integration planning
2. appcetera|MD — best healthcare-specific partner
3. Taction Software — best if custom portal/integration work is central
4. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — best if patient acquisition is a major goal
5. PatientEdge — best if you want practice-growth tooling bundled in

When interviewing them, I’d ask:

• “Which EHRs and patient portals have you integrated with?”
• “Can you show healthcare projects where patients actually used the portal?”
• “How do you handle HIPAA-sensitive forms and analytics?”
• “Will you redesign the patient journey (find care → schedule → intake → follow-up), not just the homepage?”
• “Who owns the website code and content after launch?”

A typical small-clinic project would likely be scoped as a website redesign + portal integration + accessibility + analytics setup, rather than a full custom healthcare platform.

• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Tekneq // Digital Strategy - 4136 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in the Chicago Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the visual redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration rather than hiring a pure branding shop.

My shortlist

1. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Chicago-based and healthcare-specific. Worth considering if patient acquisition, local SEO, and the new site need to work together.
2. Taction Software Solutions — particularly interesting if the portal integration is technically complex. Its Chicago team focuses on healthcare software, EHR/EMR interoperability, patient-facing portals, and HIPAA-aligned applications.
3. UX 4Sight — located in the Loop and strong on UX research, usability testing, UX/UI, and web/app design. I'd consider them if the biggest problem is that patients currently struggle to find information or use the portal.
4. Solid Digital — downtown Chicago agency with UX/UI, web development, and portal experience. A good middle ground if you want a polished redesign without necessarily building a custom healthcare platform.
5. Sandstorm Design — more design/UX-led, with healthcare experience and a research-driven approach. Potentially a strong choice if the clinic wants a substantial patient-experience redesign rather than simply a new skin on the existing site.
6. Radical Software — this one caught my eye because it has a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic case study involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling, which is unusually close to your project. Radical Software
7. Orbit Media — a larger, established Chicago web agency with a dedicated healthcare practice. It explicitly describes integrations with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner, and athenahealth, as well as HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd interview first

For your specific brief, I'd invite Taction, Radical Software, UX 4Sight, and Orbit Media to pitch.

• Most integration-heavy: Taction
• Closest comparable clinic project: Radical Software
• Best UX/research emphasis: UX 4Sight
• Most established healthcare web capability: Orbit Media

For a small clinic, I wouldn't automatically choose the biggest agency. The key question is whether they can integrate your existing patient portal rather than proposing an expensive custom portal.

When you request proposals, give each agency the same requirements: responsive redesign, patient portal integration, appointment scheduling, accessibility, HIPAA/security architecture, analytics, SEO migration, CMS, and staff training/maintenance. Also ask them to identify exactly what data crosses between the website and EHR/portal and who is responsible for the integration's security/compliance.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to 3 agencies that are the best fit.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Abelson Taylor - 33 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the patient-facing redesign and the portal/EHR integration, rather than hiring a generic Chicago web-design shop.

My shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — best for patient UX

• Based in the Loop at 111 W Jackson Blvd.
• Strong fit if the main problem is confusing navigation, poor mobile experience, or patients struggling to find appointments/portal access.
• Their work centers on UX research, usability testing, wireframes, UI design and responsive experiences.
• I’d pair them with a development/integration specialist if your portal requires substantial backend work.
• Solid Digital — best overall web redesign option

• Downtown Chicago, at 100 N LaSalle.
• Strong UX/UI and website-development capabilities, including web-app/portal experiences.
• A good middle ground if you need a polished clinic website plus ongoing digital optimization rather than a custom healthcare software product.
• Orbit Media Studios — strongest healthcare website/integration track record

• Particularly compelling if you want a strategic redesign rather than just a visual refresh.
• Orbit specifically says it works with patient portals and EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH and accessibility requirements. Orbit Media Studios
• Its healthcare portfolio includes GoHealth, Augmedics and M2 Anesthesia. Orbit Media Studios
• This would probably be my first agency to interview for your requirements.
• Taction Software Solutions — best if integration is technically complex

• Located on W Jackson Blvd.
• More software-engineering oriented than a traditional marketing agency.
• Particularly relevant if you need EHR/EMR integration, interoperability, a custom patient-facing portal, or connections to scheduling/billing/clinical systems.
• Radical Software — worth a look for a smaller-clinic project

• They have a particularly relevant Chicago-area healthcare case study: a family healthcare clinic website with patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling. Radical Software
• That makes them interesting if you want a relatively leaner agency rather than an enterprise healthcare consultancy.
• Sandstorm Design — best for research/accessibility-heavy work

• Chicago UX/digital-experience firm with healthcare experience.
• I'd consider them if accessibility, patient research, information architecture and a more sophisticated experience-design process are priorities.

How I'd narrow it

My top three to request proposals from would be Orbit Media, Solid Digital, and Radical Software. If the patient portal involves a genuinely custom integration with your EHR rather than simply putting a secure “Patient Portal” entry point on the new site, I'd swap in Taction.

One important distinction: “patient portal integration” can mean very different things. If you tell me which system the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, Tebra, etc.), I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies most likely to have the right integration experience and approximate project-size fit.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Doejo - 444 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Clarity Partners, LLC - 20 N Clark St #3600, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Abelson Taylor - 33 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603
• Core-Rx Communications - 525 W Van Buren St Ste 450, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than visual redesign—especially patient UX, accessibility, HIPAA-sensitive workflows, and integration with your existing EHR/patient portal.

My shortlist

• Orbit Media Studios — best overall for a clinic website redesign.

They have a dedicated healthcare practice and explicitly describe integrations with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner, and athenahealth, plus HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. They also have healthcare redesign work such as GoHealth and Augmedics. Orbit Media Studios
Best if: you want a polished public website, strong UX/content/SEO, and integration rather than building a new portal from scratch.

• Intechnic Corporation — best for UX-heavy healthcare work.

Their Chicago practice focuses on UX research, information architecture and digital experiences in healthcare/pharma/life sciences.
Best if: the existing patient journey is confusing and you want substantial user research before redesigning it.

• UX 4Sight — best if patient usability is the central problem.

They're in the Loop and specialize in UX research, usability testing, UX audits, web/app design and validation.
Best if: you want to interview patients/staff and redesign around actual workflows rather than simply making the site prettier.

• Doejo — good smaller, hands-on digital/product option.

They combine UX/UI, website development, software development and API integrations, which could make sense if your portal integration requires custom technical work rather than a simple link-out.
Best if: you want a relatively nimble design + engineering partner.

• Taction Software Solutions — worth considering if the integration is technically complicated.

Their Chicago office focuses on healthcare software, EHR/EMR integrations and patient-facing portals.
Best if: you're talking about actual interoperability/API/FHIR work, not merely putting a "Patient Portal" button on the website.

• Sandstorm Design — strong design/UX alternative.

They're a Chicago digital-experience agency with healthcare experience and an emphasis on research-driven UX, accessibility and governance.
Best if: you want a sophisticated patient experience and have a somewhat larger redesign budget.

One particularly relevant smaller-agency option

Radical Software is worth getting a proposal from because it has a Chicago-area healthcare clinic case study involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling—very close to what you're describing. The Radical Software

How I'd narrow it down

For your specific project, I'd invite Orbit Media, Intechnic/UX 4Sight, and Radical Software to the first round. I'd add Taction if the portal/EHR integration is technically complex.

When you talk to them, don't just ask "Can you integrate our patient portal?" Ask:

1. Which EHR/portal systems have you integrated with?
2. Will patient data remain inside the portal, or are you proposing to transmit PHI through the new website?
3. Who handles the HIPAA/security architecture and BAAs?
4. Can you show us a healthcare project with similar patient workflows?
5. How will you test the redesign with actual patients and clinic staff?
6. Will appointment scheduling, forms, messaging, records and portal login work well on mobile?
7. What happens after launch—maintenance, security updates and integration support?

For a small clinic, I'd strongly favor integrating the existing portal rather than commissioning a custom patient portal, unless you have a compelling reason not to. Orbit, for example, explicitly describes integrating existing patient portals/EHRs rather than requiring the healthcare organization to replace its underlying system. Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal you use (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are the best fit and compare likely scope/cost level.

• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Matchnode - 318 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Intouch Solutions, Inc. - Chicago - 205 N Michigan Ave #3200, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• AbelsonTaylor, Inc. - The Old Post Office, 433 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Tekneq // Digital Strategy - 4136 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can do more than make the site look better—you want strong patient UX, accessibility, healthcare compliance, and integration with your existing patient portal/EHR.

My shortlist

• Pivot Design — Best for strategy + healthcare UX/branding. Their Chicago team is heavily focused on healthcare/life sciences and offers digital strategy, customer experience, websites, and creative. They’re probably more agency than a small clinic strictly needs, but worth considering if the redesign involves repositioning the practice.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best if the portal integration is technically complicated. They do custom healthcare software, patient-facing portals, telemedicine and EHR interoperability, including HL7/FHIR-oriented work. This is the one I'd interview if integration—not just visual redesign—is the difficult part.
• WebToMed, LLC — Good healthcare-specific all-rounder. Their offering combines medical website development with marketing and custom web applications, so they're potentially a better fit than a general Chicago design agency for a smaller practice.
• ChiTown Web Design — Worth getting a proposal from for a smaller-clinic budget. They're specifically oriented toward healthcare/clinic websites and patient acquisition rather than purely corporate web design.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Good if patient acquisition is a major objective. They're healthcare-focused and Chicago-based, with an emphasis on growing medical practices. I'd clarify exactly how much hands-on development/integration they perform versus outsourcing it.

Two particularly relevant specialists

Orbit Media is one I'd put high on the RFP list. Its healthcare practice explicitly covers patient portals/EHRs (including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth), HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, UX and secure integrations. That's unusually close to your requirements. Orbit Media Studios

Radical Software also deserves a conversation because it has an actual Chicago-area family healthcare clinic project involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling, rather than merely claiming healthcare experience. Radical Software

How I'd narrow it down

For your particular project, I'd interview 3 agencies:

1. Orbit Media — strongest apparent fit for a polished healthcare website + portal/EHR integration.
2. Radical Software — particularly interesting because of the directly comparable clinic project.
3. Taction Software Solutions — bring them in if your portal/EHR integration has significant technical requirements.

In the RFP, don't just ask "Can you integrate our patient portal?" Ask:

• Which EHR/portal vendor and API have you integrated with?
• Will patients be sent to the vendor's portal, or are you proposing an embedded experience?
• How will you prevent PHI from entering ordinary website forms, analytics, CRM, or ad platforms?
• What HIPAA/business-associate responsibilities does the agency assume?
• How will the new site meet WCAG/ADA accessibility requirements?
• Can they migrate the existing site without losing Google rankings?
• Who handles ongoing security, updates and integration maintenance?

One important distinction: if your existing portal already works well, I would generally redesign the public-facing website and create a very clear, secure "Patient Portal" pathway rather than attempting to rebuild the portal itself. That can substantially reduce cost and complexity.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal you use (Epic, MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies and compare them on price level, healthcare experience, portal integration capability, and fit for a small Loop clinic.

• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX and can integrate an existing patient portal/EHR—not just agencies that make attractive marketing sites.

My shortlist

• Intechnic Corporation — Best for UX-heavy redesign. Their Chicago office is at 20 N Wacker, and they specialize in UX research, digital experience design, and healthcare/pharma work. This is a strong choice if the main problem is that patients struggle to find appointments, forms, portal access, or information.
• Taction Software Solutions — Best if the integration is technically complex. They work on healthcare platforms and EHR/EMR integrations, including patient-facing portals. I'd consider them if the project involves more than simply putting a "Patient Portal" button on the website.
• Sandstorm Design — Best for research-driven experience design. They're a Chicago UX/digital-experience firm with healthcare experience. I'd shortlist them if you want to understand patient behavior first and then redesign the whole journey.
• Orbit Media — Best established healthcare website specialist. Orbit specifically markets healthcare website design in Chicago and says it handles patient-portal/EHR integrations including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, along with HIPAA/HITECH and accessibility considerations. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

• Radical Software — Worth a look for a smaller custom build. They have a particularly relevant Chicago-area healthcare case study involving a clinic website with patient portal integration and appointment scheduling. Radical Software

theradicalsoftware.com

• Flamingo Agency — Best budget/small-practice-oriented option. They explicitly target small clinics and private practices and offer WordPress redesigns, appointment scheduling, secure patient portals and ongoing maintenance. Flamingo Agency

flamingoagency.com

Who I'd contact first

For your particular project, I'd get proposals from Orbit Media, Intechnic, and Radical Software.

The distinction I'd make is:

One important caveat: “patient portal integration” can mean very different things. If you're keeping an existing Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, etc. portal, the job may simply be designing a secure, prominent entry point and coordinating authentication/vendor requirements. If you want the agency to actually build portal functionality or exchange patient data, you need a much more technically capable healthcare integration partner.

When requesting proposals, I'd specifically ask each agency to show (1) a healthcare redesign they personally delivered, (2) an example of patient-portal/EHR integration, (3) their approach to HIPAA and accessibility, and (4) exactly what patient data will—and will not—pass through the new website. Orbit, for example, explicitly discusses HIPAA/HITECH, ADA and EHR/patient-portal integrations. Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and your rough budget, I can narrow this to the 3 best agencies and compare likely project fit/cost tier.

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Kalipr, LLC - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011
• Liska & Associates Inc - 610 N Fairbanks Ct, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Intouch Solutions, Inc. - Chicago - 205 N Michigan Ave #3200, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• DrCare247 - 50 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States

For a small clinic in the Chicago Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the visual redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration—not just a prettier marketing site.

My shortlist

• UX 4Sight — best for patient experience/UX

• Located in the Loop at 111 W Jackson Blvd.
• Strong fit if the main problem is that patients struggle to find services, book appointments, or navigate the portal.
• Their work centers on UX/UI and improving digital conversion and patient experiences.
• Ask: whether they have directly integrated your specific portal/EHR rather than simply linking to it.
• Taction Software Solutions — best for custom integration

• Located at 1016 W Jackson Blvd.
• More of a software/healthcare IT partner than a pure creative agency.
• Worth considering if you need actual API/EHR integration, custom patient workflows, or a portal experience beyond a simple "Log into Patient Portal" button.
• Sandstorm Design — best for sophisticated UX + accessibility

• Chicago-based UX/digital experience agency with healthcare experience.
• I'd consider them if accessibility, research, information architecture and a polished overall patient journey are major priorities.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — best for a smaller practice focused on growth

• Chicago healthcare specialist offering website design/management and patient-acquisition work.
• Potentially a good fit if the redesign needs to generate more appointments as well as improve the existing patient experience.
• Practice Tech Solutions — worth getting a small-practice-focused proposal

• Healthcare-focused digital/web firm serving medical practices.
• I'd include them in the RFP if budget and ongoing marketing support matter.

Two agencies I'd also put on the call list

Orbit Media Studios is particularly interesting if the clinic has substantial content or wants a more strategic website rebuild. Its healthcare practice explicitly lists patient portals/EHRs—including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth—along with HIPAA/HITECH and accessibility considerations. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

Radical Software is another unusually relevant option: its Chicago healthcare case study involved a family clinic and specifically included patient portal integration and appointment scheduling. Radical Software

theradicalsoftware.com

How I'd choose

For your situation, I'd rank them:

The biggest question to ask each agency is: "Show us a healthcare website where you integrated the exact same patient portal/EHR we're using, and explain what data actually passes between the systems." A lot of agencies say "patient portal integration" when they really mean placing an external login link on the website.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, Tebra, etc.) and roughly what you'd like to spend, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their relevant case studies, capabilities, and likely fit.

• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611
• Onimod Global - 159 N Sangamon St Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60607
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
• Logical Media Group - 445 W Erie St #208, Chicago, IL 60654
• Neolytix - 318 W Adams St suit 1712, Chicago, IL 60606
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
• Digitally Enhanced - 226 N Clinton St, Chicago, IL 60661
• Digital Destination - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654
• Progital Agency - 318 W Adams St Ste 1711 Unit #1155, Chicago, IL 60606

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA/security considerations, EHR or patient portal integrations, appointment flows, and accessibility—not just agencies that build attractive marketing sites. A few Chicago-area firms worth considering:

Shortlist to evaluate

Orbit Media Studios

Good fit if you need a patient-friendly website redesign plus strong UX/content strategy. Orbit specifically highlights healthcare website work, including HIPAA/HITECH considerations, accessibility, and integrations with systems such as patient portals and EHRs. Orbit Media Studios
Best for:

• Redesigning an outdated clinic website
• Improving patient journeys (“find a service,” “book appointment,” “log in to portal”)
• SEO and content improvements
• Clinics that want a polished but practical site

Digital Authority Partners

A stronger candidate if the project is broader than a website refresh—such as patient engagement workflows, portals, automation, or custom digital products. Their Chicago healthcare web work mentions patient portals and healthcare integrations. Digital Authority Partners
Best for:

• More complex integrations
• Digital strategy + development
• Clinics planning future expansion

ActiveColor

Worth considering if the portal component is substantial. They have healthcare application experience involving UX/UI, backend development, HIPAA compliance, and patient-flow systems. ActiveColor
Best for:

• Custom portal features
• Patient-facing applications
• More technical builds

Radical Software

They have a healthcare clinic website case study involving patient portal integration and appointment scheduling workflows. theradicalsoftware.com
Best for:

• Smaller practices wanting hands-on development
• Website + scheduling + portal connection

CBGO Consulting

More strategy-oriented. They focus on healthcare digital experiences, including patient journeys, UX research, scheduling flows, and portal onboarding. CBGO Consulting
Best for:

• Clinics that need help defining requirements before development
• Improving patient access workflows

Also worth a look

• Digital Authority Partners — especially if you want marketing, analytics, and digital transformation together. Digital Authority Partners
• YourPortal — a Chicago web design provider; worth screening if you want a smaller vendor.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — healthcare-focused marketing option for acquisition, branding, and online presence.

Questions I’d ask before hiring

For a clinic in the Loop, I’d put these in the RFP:

1. Which EHR/patient portal systems have you integrated with?

• Epic/MyChart?
• Athenahealth?
• eClinicalWorks?
• NextGen?
• DrChrono?
• Other?
• Will patient data ever pass through your systems?

• If yes, ask about HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA), security practices, hosting, and access controls.
• Can you redesign around patient tasks?

The most valuable flows are usually:

• New patient registration
• Appointment scheduling
• Portal login
• Forms/intake
• Insurance/payment questions
• Provider information
• Can you show healthcare examples—not just general websites?

My likely shortlist for a small Loop clinic

I’d probably take discovery calls with:

1. Orbit Media Studios — strongest website/UX balance
2. Radical Software — likely a practical fit for a smaller clinic build
3. ActiveColor — if the portal integration is technically ambitious
4. CBGO Consulting — if you need strategy before selecting technology

A key detail that would change the recommendation: what patient portal/EHR does the clinic use today (Epic/MyChart, Athena, eClinicalWorks, etc.)? The best agency depends heavily on that integration.

• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• TherapySites - 3010 Highland Pkwy, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Matchnode - 318 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Prevail Health Solutions - 1105 W Chicago Ave #203, Chicago, IL 60642, United States
• Med Spa Marketing Portal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• PatientMD - connecting the Healthcare Comminity-Remote Patient Monitoring, Telehealth and Telemedicine Solutions - 333 W North Ave #412, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• TimeDoc Health - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Extended Care Solutions - 222 S Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

Yes. For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX and integrations—not just firms that make attractive WordPress sites.

My shortlist

• Intechnic Corporation — Best for sophisticated UX/integration work. Their Chicago team focuses heavily on UX research and digital experiences in healthcare and other regulated environments. This is the strongest option if the patient portal is central to the redesign rather than simply a “Log in” button. Clique Studios
• Flamingo Agency — Best for a smaller-practice budget. They specifically market medical website design to small clinics and private practices, including appointment scheduling, patient portals, mobile forms and HIPAA-conscious integrations. Flamingo Agency
• WebToMed, LLC — Best healthcare-specialist option. They focus specifically on medical practices and healthcare organizations and offer responsive healthcare websites, patient-acquisition functionality and portal integration.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Best if attracting new patients is a major objective. They're healthcare-specific and combine website work with patient-acquisition strategy rather than treating the website as an isolated project.
• Windy City Web Solutions — Potential value-oriented local option. They're in the South Loop and work with small organizations including healthcare providers, with custom WordPress design, hosting and maintenance.
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC — Worth interviewing for integration-heavy work. They're Chicago-area healthcare-focused and position themselves around websites, patient-facing technology and portals.

One particularly relevant case study

Radical Software has an unusually close example: they built a website for a family healthcare clinic in the Chicago suburbs with patient portal access, appointment scheduling and patient-focused navigation. That makes them worth adding to the RFP even though they're not one of the bigger Chicago agencies. Radical Software

Who I'd interview first

For your specific project, I'd make the initial RFP:

1. Intechnic — strongest UX/integration sophistication
2. Flamingo Agency — likely better fit for a small-clinic budget
3. Radical Software — closest demonstrated project match
4. WebToMed — healthcare-specialist alternative

The key question I'd ask every agency is “Have you integrated the specific patient portal/EHR we use, and can you show me that implementation?” A portal link is relatively easy; safely handling authentication, appointment workflows, forms, analytics, accessibility and PHI-related data flows is the more important distinction.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what you want to spend, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare likely fit, relevant case studies, and questions to put in the RFP.

• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Med Spa Marketing Portal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Incognito Design, Inc. - 343 S Harvey Ave Unit 1, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States

For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both patient-centered UX and the technical integration with your existing EHR/portal, rather than hiring a generic branding shop.

My Chicago shortlist

• Intechnic Corporation — Best for complex UX/integration. Downtown Chicago, with strong UX research and digital-experience expertise in healthcare. Their positioning is a particularly good fit if the redesign involves complicated patient journeys rather than just a prettier website.
• UX 4Sight — Best Loop-local UX specialist. They're on W. Jackson Blvd in the Loop and focus specifically on UX/UI, research and improving conversion/task completion. I'd consider them if patient usability is the central problem.
• Flamingo Agency — Best small-clinic/budget-oriented option. Their healthcare offering is aimed specifically at small clinics and private practices, with WordPress, SEO, patient-friendly design and portal/scheduling integrations. Flamingo Agency
• Windy City Web Solutions — Best smaller hands-on web partner. They're in the South Loop and focus on WordPress sites for small organizations, including healthcare providers. I'd shortlist them if you want a relatively straightforward redesign plus ongoing maintenance.
• Orbit Media — Best established healthcare web-design shop. They're a Chicago agency with substantial healthcare experience and explicitly describe integrations with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, as well as HIPAA/HITECH and accessibility requirements. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios
• Radical Software — Worth a serious look for the portal component. Their Chicago-area Family Healthcare Clinics case study specifically involved patient-portal integration plus appointment scheduling. That makes the example unusually close to your project. Radical Software

How I'd narrow it

For your particular project, I'd invite Intechnic, Orbit Media, and Radical Software to pitch, then add Flamingo as the smaller-agency/budget benchmark.

The key question to put in the RFP isn't simply “Can you integrate our patient portal?” Ask:

“Show us a healthcare project where you redesigned the public patient experience while integrating an existing EHR/patient portal, and explain exactly what data crosses the website-to-portal boundary.”

That's important because the website itself and the authenticated patient portal should generally be treated as different security environments. You want the agency to demonstrate that they understand PHI, authentication, APIs, BAAs, accessibility and failure states—not just put a “Patient Login” button in the header.

I'd also ask each agency to price these separately:

1. UX research + patient/staff journey mapping
2. Website redesign/development
3. Patient-portal/EHR integration
4. HIPAA/security review
5. WCAG accessibility testing
6. Analytics/conversion tracking
7. Ongoing maintenance

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR you currently use (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, etc.) and roughly what your budget is, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and compare them side-by-side.

“Show us a healthcare project where you redesigned the public patient experience while integrating an existing EHR/patient portal, and explain exactly what data crosses the website-to-portal boundary.”

That's important because the website itself and the authenticated patient portal should generally be treated as different security environments. You want the agency to demonstrate that they understand PHI, authentication, APIs, BAAs, accessibility and failure states—not just put a “Patient Login” button in the header.

I'd also ask each agency to price these separately:

• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Officite - 3010 Highland Pkwy #200, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• DrCare247 - 50 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• TherapySites - 3010 Highland Pkwy, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA-conscious workflows, accessibility, scheduling, and patient portal/EHR integrations—not just a visually nice redesign. A good shortlist:

Strong Chicago-area candidates

Orbit Media Studios

Good fit if you need a polished redesign plus strategy, SEO, and integrations. They specifically discuss healthcare website projects, including integrations with patient portals and EHR systems such as Epic, Cerner, and athenahealth. Orbit Media Studios

Best for: clinics that want a high-quality marketing site, better patient journeys, and long-term content/SEO support.

Intechnic

A stronger choice if the portal experience is complex. They focus heavily on UX research, digital experience design, and healthcare-related platforms.

Best for: clinics that need to rethink workflows (new patient intake, portal access, provider search, appointment flows), not just refresh branding.

Americaneagle.com

Worth considering if you need a more enterprise-style build, integrations, or a CMS-driven platform. They have healthcare digital experience work, including a Chicago-area healthcare provider redesign using HubSpot. Americaneagle.com

Best for: clinics expecting growth, multiple locations, or more advanced functionality.

Radical Software

A smaller/custom-development option. Their healthcare case work includes patient portal access and scheduling integration for a clinic website. Radical Software

Best for: a smaller clinic that wants custom development rather than a marketing-only website.

Practice Tech Solutions

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 224-400-6950)

A healthcare-focused web and marketing provider serving practices, with services around websites, digital marketing, and practice technology.

Best for: smaller practices looking for a healthcare-specialized partner rather than a general web agency.

Evolve Healthcare Marketing

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-260-1121)

Focused specifically on healthcare growth and medical practices, including website work and patient acquisition strategy.

Best for: clinics where the redesign goal is also increasing appointment volume.

What I’d ask in the first agency call

For a Loop clinic, I would ask each vendor:

1. “Have you integrated with our EHR/patient portal?”

• Epic MyChart?
• athenahealth?
• eClinicalWorks?
• NextGen?
• Other?
• “How will you handle protected health information?”

• HIPAA-compliant forms
• Business Associate Agreements (BAAs)
• Secure hosting
• Analytics/privacy setup
• “Can patients do these tasks easily?”

• Request an appointment
• Log into the portal
• Complete forms
• Find providers/services
• Contact the clinic
• “Who owns the website after launch?”

• Domain ownership
• CMS access
• Design files
• Hosting control

My shortlist for a small Loop clinic

• Best overall balance: Orbit Media
• Best UX/integration-heavy project: Intechnic
• Best smaller custom build: Radical Software
• Best healthcare growth focus: Evolve Healthcare Marketing
• Best if you want a practice-focused vendor: Practice Tech Solutions

Before choosing, I’d request 3 proposals and give all agencies the same requirements document (current site issues, EHR/platform, portal requirements, accessibility needs, budget range, and launch timeline). That will make comparisons much easier.

Best for: clinics expecting growth, multiple locations, or more advanced functionality.

Radical Software

A smaller/custom-development option. Their healthcare case work includes patient portal access and scheduling integration for a clinic website. Radical Software

Best for: a smaller clinic that wants custom development rather than a marketing-only website.

Practice Tech Solutions

A healthcare-focused web and marketing provider serving practices, with services around websites, digital marketing, and practice technology.

Best for: smaller practices looking for a healthcare-specialized partner rather than a general web agency.

Evolve Healthcare Marketing

Focused specifically on healthcare growth and medical practices, including website work and patient acquisition strategy.

Best for: clinics where the redesign goal is also increasing appointment volume.

What I’d ask in the first agency call

For a Loop clinic, I would ask each vendor:

• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Remedy - LaSalle-Wacker Building, 121 W Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than a visual refresh—especially patient UX, portal/EHR integration, accessibility, and healthcare privacy/security.

My shortlist

• UX 4Sight — Best for a patient-centered UX redesign. They’re actually in the Loop at 111 W Jackson Blvd and focus on UX/UI, research, and improving digital conversion experiences. I’d consider them if the portal experience and overall patient journey are the main problems. Esco Logics
• Orbit Media — Best all-around healthcare website option. Their healthcare practice explicitly covers UX, accessibility, HIPAA/HITECH considerations and integrations with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth. They also have healthcare case studies. Orbit Media Studios
• Radical Software — Best if portal integration is technically significant. Their Chicago-area healthcare-clinic case study specifically involved patient portal integration and appointment scheduling, making this particularly relevant to your project. Radical Software
• Medico Growth — Good small/midsize-practice fit. They focus specifically on medical websites and describe patient portal, appointment, practice-management and other healthcare-system integrations alongside UX, development and SEO. Medico Growth
• Esco Logics — Good budget-conscious healthcare web option. They advertise Chicago healthcare redesigns with patient portals, scheduling, mobile UX, accessibility and HIPAA-oriented security. I'd verify their depth of experience with your specific portal/EHR before signing. Esco Logics
• ActiveColor — Best if you're looking for a more sophisticated digital-health build. Their healthcare work includes HIPAA-compliant applications, UX/UI, information architecture and custom web applications, including work involving University of Chicago Medicine. ActiveColor

One I’d interview first

For your specific description, I'd probably invite Orbit Media, UX 4Sight, and Radical Software to pitch.

The distinction is useful:

One important caveat: “patient portal integration” can mean something very different depending on the system. A clinic that simply needs a prominent, secure link into an existing Epic/athenahealth portal has a much smaller project than one wanting single sign-on, embedded workflows, appointment APIs, forms, or EHR data exchange.

When you solicit proposals, I'd explicitly ask each agency: “Show us a healthcare project where you integrated an existing patient portal/EHR, and explain exactly what data or workflows you integrated.” Also ask who is responsible for HIPAA/security architecture and whether they'll sign a BAA where appropriate.

If you want a 3–5 agency RFP shortlist specifically for a small Loop clinic, I can narrow these down further by likely project cost, healthcare experience, portal/EHR integration capability, and agency size.

• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Odeza Health - 117 N Jefferson St Ste 306, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Med Spa Marketing Portal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Incognito Design, Inc. - 343 S Harvey Ave Unit 1, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d favor a boutique agency that can handle both patient-facing UX and the technical integration, rather than a large healthcare marketing firm.

My shortlist

• Intechnic Corporation — Best overall for a complex redesign. They’re in the Loop and specialize in UX research, UX/UI, and digital experiences in healthcare and other high-stakes environments. This is the strongest option if the portal integration and patient journey are central to the project.
• UX 4Sight — Best UX-first option. Also in the Loop, with a focus on research-backed UX/UI and improving conversion/task completion. I’d consider them if your existing site works technically but patients struggle to find services, schedule, or reach the portal.
• Windy City Web Solutions — Best small-agency/value option. They focus on custom WordPress sites for smaller organizations, including healthcare providers, and offer ongoing maintenance. Worth considering if you want a hands-on local partner rather than a major consultancy.
• Orbit Media — Best established healthcare web specialist. Their healthcare practice explicitly covers HIPAA/HITECH/ADA considerations and integrations with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner, and athenahealth. Orbit Media Studios Their healthcare work looks particularly relevant if the website needs to connect cleanly to an existing clinical technology stack.
• Radical Software — Interesting boutique technical option. They recently built a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic website incorporating patient-portal access and appointment scheduling, using a modern Next.js/TypeScript stack. Radical Software This is a particularly relevant reference project for a smaller clinic.
• VisualFizz — Good if the current site has performance/accessibility problems. They redesigned a Chicago community healthcare organization's site, improving UX, accessibility, speed, navigation, search, and appointment access. VisualFizz

Who I'd interview first

I'd probably invite Intechnic, UX 4Sight, Orbit Media, and Radical Software to pitch.

The key distinction is that you don't merely need a prettier website. You want the agency to map the patient journey:

Google/search → service information → provider/location → appointment → patient portal → post-visit communication

I'd specifically ask each agency:

1. Which patient portal/EHR integrations have you actually implemented? Ask for a comparable project, not just "we can integrate APIs."
2. Does the portal remain on the vendor's platform, or are you proposing to move/rebuild any PHI functionality?
3. How do you handle HIPAA, accessibility/WCAG, analytics, cookies, forms, and other potentially sensitive patient data?
4. Can you conduct usability testing with actual patients before designing the new IA?
5. Who will actually build the integration—the agency or a subcontractor?
6. Can you give us a fixed-scope Phase 1 discovery/UX engagement before committing to the full redesign?

For a small clinic, I'd be particularly wary of an agency that leads with SEO, ads, or lead generation and treats the portal as a simple "button." The portal experience and integration architecture deserve to be part of the core UX/technical brief.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal you're using (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually solicit proposals from.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
• DrCare247 - 50 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration, rather than hiring a purely visual web-design shop.

My shortlist

• Orbit Media Studios — Probably the strongest overall fit. Chicago-based, with substantial healthcare website experience. Orbit explicitly discusses integrations with Epic, Cerner, Athenahealth and patient portals/EHRs, plus HIPAA/ADA/HITECH considerations. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

• Intechnic Corporation — Worth considering if the project is more UX-heavy. They specialize in UX research/design for complex healthcare and regulated environments, so I'd put them high on the list if the portal experience itself needs significant improvement.
• Clique Studios — Especially interesting because they're in the Loop at 20 N. Wacker and combine digital strategy, UX/UI, redesign and software engineering. I'd consider them if the portal integration involves meaningful custom development rather than simply linking to an existing portal.
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC — A more healthcare-specialized option in the Chicago area. Their positioning includes healthcare websites, patient-facing technology and portal usability, which could make them a good fit for a smaller practice that wants one healthcare-focused partner.
• Practice Tech Solutions — Potentially a good small-clinic option. They're healthcare-focused and work with medical/dental practices rather than primarily enterprise health systems. I'd ask them specifically for examples involving your particular EHR/portal.
• WebToMed, LLC — Another healthcare-specialist option, particularly if the redesign also needs SEO and patient acquisition. Their healthcare portfolio includes patient-facing features and portal integration.

One particularly relevant case study

Radical Software has a Chicago-area family healthcare project that included patient portal integration, appointment scheduling and a patient-friendly redesign—very close to what you're describing. Radical Software

I'd also look at Monogram if the portal integration is the central technical challenge. Their GoHealth case involved redesigning the website and then connecting it to the patient's portal through authentication/API integration. Monogram

Who I'd interview first

For a small Loop clinic, my initial three-agency RFP would be:

1. Orbit Media — strongest combination of healthcare + integrations + mature UX.
2. appcetera|MD Health Group — healthcare-specific and potentially more appropriate to a smaller practice.
3. Radical Software — particularly compelling if you want a leaner custom-development partner with directly relevant portal work.

The biggest question I'd put in the RFP is “What exactly is our portal/EHR, and how will you integrate it?” Don't accept generic claims of “HIPAA-compliant integration.” Ask each agency to show a previous project using the same portal/EHR or authentication/API architecture, explain whether PHI ever passes through their infrastructure, and identify who handles BAAs, security testing and accessibility.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to the 3–5 agencies most likely to be a good fit.

• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Hero Digital - 1 N Dearborn St Ste 725, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Med Spa Marketing Portal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• AbelsonTaylor, Inc. - The Old Post Office, 433 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• PatientUp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the redesign and the patient-portal/EHR handoff, rather than hiring a general branding shop.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Best if you want a healthcare-specialist partner. They focus specifically on medical-practice growth and patient acquisition, with healthcare-aware compliance and accessibility considerations. Good fit if the redesign also needs stronger appointment conversion and local visibility.
2. Clique Studios — Best for a more sophisticated digital-experience redesign. Their capabilities include UX research, information architecture, usability testing, accessibility, application design and web development. They're in the Loop at 20 N Wacker. Unosquare
3. UX 4Sight — Worth considering if the primary problem is patient usability. They're in the Loop at 111 W Jackson and specialize in UX/UI, UX audits and research-driven experience improvements. I'd pair them with an implementation/development team if the portal integration is technically complex.
4. Hero Digital — A larger option for a full digital transformation: strategy, UX, web development and analytics. Their Chicago office is at 1 N Dearborn. This may be more agency than a small clinic needs, but they're worth an exploratory conversation if the project is ambitious.
5. Sandstorm Design — Strong choice if accessibility and UX quality are especially important. They're a Chicago digital-experience/UX firm with healthcare experience and accessibility capabilities.
6. Orbit Media — Probably my strongest website-focused alternative. Their healthcare practice explicitly supports patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, UX and healthcare web development. Orbit Media Studios
7. ActiveColor — Consider this if the portal integration is actually becoming a custom digital product rather than simply a “Log in to your portal” button. They have substantial digital-health experience and cite work with University of Chicago Medicine, including a HIPAA-compliant healthcare application. ActiveColor
8. Medico Growth — A potentially good small/midsize-practice fit. They specifically serve Chicago healthcare organizations and describe patient-portal, appointment, CRM and practice-management integrations. Medico Growth

Who I'd interview first

For your particular situation, I'd narrow the RFP to Orbit Media, Evolve Healthcare Marketing, Clique Studios, and ActiveColor.

The deciding question isn't really “Who makes the prettiest healthcare website?” It's:

Can you redesign the patient journey while securely integrating our existing portal without putting PHI into the marketing website?

Ask each agency to show you one comparable healthcare project and explain exactly how they handled:

• Existing portal/EHR integration — and whether they're linking to it, embedding it, or building middleware.
• HIPAA/BAA responsibilities and where PHI is allowed to flow.
• Appointment scheduling and online intake.
• Mobile patient experience.
• ADA/WCAG accessibility.
• Analytics without inadvertently collecting PHI.
• Content migration and ongoing maintenance.
• What happens when your portal vendor changes its interface/API.

For a small clinic, I'd also resist paying a large agency to rebuild the portal itself unless your existing portal is genuinely the problem. In many cases, the better architecture is a polished public-facing site with a very clear, secure handoff into the existing patient portal. Orbit, for example, explicitly describes integrating existing patient portals/EHRs rather than requiring replacement. Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR you're using (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to and compare them on integration capability, likely fit, and cost tier.

For a small clinic, I'd also resist paying a large agency to rebuild the portal itself unless your existing portal is genuinely the problem. In many cases, the better architecture is a polished public-facing site with a very clear, secure handoff into the existing patient portal. Orbit, for example, explicitly describes integrating existing patient portals/EHRs rather than requiring replacement.

Yes. For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than a visual redesign—especially patient-portal/EHR integration, accessibility, privacy/security, appointment flows, and a manageable CMS.

My shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — best if patient experience/UX is the priority
   • Chicago Loop-based UX/UI firm.
   • Strong fit if the existing site is confusing and you want research, usability testing, information architecture, and a better patient journey before development.
   • I’d pair them with a healthcare-focused developer if they don't own the integration work end-to-end.

2. Design In Chicago — good small/mid-sized full-service option
   • West Loop agency offering UX/UI, web development, web applications, portal/dashboard development and CRM integrations.
   • Worth interviewing if you want one team covering branding, redesign, development and integrations.

3. Orbit Media — strongest established healthcare/web option
   • Their healthcare practice explicitly lists patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and AthenaHealth, along with HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, UX and secure integrations. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Probably the first agency I'd talk to if the portal integration is a major technical requirement, although they may be more agency than a very small clinic needs.

4. Radical Software — particularly relevant small-clinic example
   • Their Chicago-area healthcare case study is unusually close to your scenario: they redesigned a family healthcare clinic site with patient portal access and appointment scheduling. theradicalsoftware.com
   • This makes them worth putting in the RFP, especially if you want a modern custom build rather than a giant agency engagement.

5. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — healthcare-specific growth partner
   • Chicago-based and focused specifically on healthcare/medical practices.
   • Better candidate if the redesign also needs to improve patient acquisition, SEO and conversion—not just the website itself.

6. Medico Growth — good healthcare-specialist alternative
   • Specifically targets Chicago healthcare providers and offers redesign, patient-focused UX, appointment integrations and patient-portal integration. medicogrowth.com

7. Esco Logics — potentially good budget-conscious technical option
   • Advertises Chicago healthcare redesigns with patient portals, appointment scheduling, telehealth, HIPAA/security and ADA accessibility. escologics.com
   • I'd vet their actual healthcare integration references carefully before selecting them.

Who I'd invite to the first round

For a small clinic, I'd probably send an RFP to Radical Software, Design In Chicago, UX 4Sight, and Orbit Media. That gives you four substantially different approaches:

One important distinction: "patient portal integration" shouldn't simply mean putting a MyChart/Athena/etc. button on the homepage. Ask each agency to specify exactly how they'll handle the portal you're using, what data crosses the website boundary, what is hosted by the clinic versus the portal vendor, and how they'll handle HIPAA/security and accessibility. Orbit, for example, explicitly describes integration with existing EHR/portal systems rather than treating the portal as a standalone marketing link. www.orbitmedia.com

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually hire and what I’d expect each to charge.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• DrCare247 - 50 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• WebToMed - 1515 S Grove Ave, Ste 3637, Barrington, IL 60011
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than a visual redesign—especially patient UX, accessibility, secure portal/EHR integration, appointment flows, and HIPAA-conscious implementation.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall fit

• Chicago-based and has a dedicated healthcare web practice.
• Explicitly discusses integrating patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, along with HIPAA/HITECH and accessibility considerations. Orbit Media Studios
• Strong choice if you want a polished redesign plus a well-thought-out patient journey rather than just a prettier WordPress site.
• Ask them: whether they've integrated your specific portal/EHR and whether they can handle the secure handoff without putting PHI into the marketing site.
• Clique Studios — best for strategy + UX

• Their Chicago office is right in the Loop, and healthcare is one of their focus industries.
• They emphasize patient-first healthcare experiences and have substantial healthcare web/design experience. Clique Studios
• I'd consider them if the clinic needs to rethink information architecture, branding, content, and patient journeys—not merely rebuild pages.
• Potential downside: likely a more substantial agency engagement than a small clinic strictly needs.
• Intechnic Corporation — best for complex UX/integration

• Chicago-based UX consultancy with a strong healthcare/pharma orientation.
• Particularly interesting if the "patient portal integration" involves a complicated workflow rather than simply adding a Log in to Patient Portal button.
• Their strength is UX research, information architecture and digital-experience design for complex environments.
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — best healthcare-specialist option for a smaller practice

• Focused specifically on healthcare and medical-practice growth.
• Offers healthcare website design/management and patient-acquisition work, rather than being a generalist agency.
• I'd put them on the shortlist if budget and ongoing patient acquisition matter as much as the redesign.
• WebToMed, LLC — best if you want healthcare specialization + ongoing marketing

• Healthcare-focused web/digital marketing firm serving clinics and medical practices.
• More oriented toward medical websites, patient acquisition and ongoing marketing than a high-end product/UX consultancy.

One wildcard worth interviewing

Radical Software has a particularly relevant Chicago-area case study: they built a healthcare clinic website incorporating patient portal access and appointment scheduling, using a custom Next.js/TypeScript stack. The Radical Software

That makes them worth talking to if your portal integration is a genuine technical requirement rather than just a navigation link.

Who I'd actually invite to pitch

For a small Loop clinic, I'd probably send the RFP to Orbit, Evolve, Clique, and Radical Software.

I'd weight the proposals roughly:

• 30% patient UX / accessibility
• 25% portal/EHR integration experience
• 20% security, HIPAA and data-flow understanding
• 15% quality of design/development
• 10% cost and ongoing support

One important distinction: don't let an agency claim "HIPAA-compliant website" without explaining exactly what data crosses the website, what is stored, where it's hosted, and how the portal integration works. Ideally, the public marketing site handles no PHI and sends patients into the healthcare vendor's authenticated environment.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and your rough budget ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to the 3 strongest agencies and compare likely fit, relevant case studies, and pricing level.

• 30% patient UX / accessibility
• 25% portal/EHR integration experience
• 20% security, HIPAA and data-flow understanding
• 15% quality of design/development
• 10% cost and ongoing support

One important distinction: don't let an agency claim "HIPAA-compliant website" without explaining exactly what data crosses the website, what is stored, where it's hosted, and how the portal integration works. Ideally, the public marketing site handles no PHI and sends patients into the healthcare vendor's authenticated environment.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and your rough budget ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+), I can narrow this to the 3 strongest agencies and compare likely fit, relevant case studies, and pricing level.

For a small healthcare clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA-sensitive workflows, EHR/patient portal integrations, accessibility, and conversion paths (appointment requests, new-patient intake, portal login, provider discovery). A flashy redesign alone is less important than reducing friction for patients and staff.

Here are Chicago-area agencies worth considering:

My shortlist for a Loop clinic

I’d probably invite 3–4 agencies to pitch:

1. Orbit Media — if you need a strong redesign, content strategy, accessibility, and EHR/portal integration planning. www.orbitmedia.com
2. Medico Growth — if this is a smaller independent clinic focused on getting more appointments and improving patient usability. medicogrowth.com
3. appcetera|MD Health Group — if you want a healthcare-specific partner rather than a general marketing agency.
4. Radical Software — if the “portal integration” part is more than simply adding a login button (for example, custom intake flows, dashboards, or workflow automation). www.flamingoagency.comtheradicalsoftware.com

Questions to ask during proposals

Make sure they can answer these specifically:

• Which EHRs have you integrated with? (Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.)
• Will patient data ever pass through your systems? If yes, discuss HIPAA requirements and BAAs.
• Can you redesign around patient journeys? (new patient → scheduling → intake → visit → follow-up)
• How will you handle portal adoption? Many clinics have portals that exist but are underused. www.athenahealth.com
• Will the clinic own the website, CMS, analytics, and content?
• Do you test accessibility (WCAG) and mobile usability?

A typical small clinic redesign with an existing patient portal is usually more of a website + UX + integration project than a full custom portal build. If you tell me the clinic type (primary care, specialty, behavioral health, dental, etc.), current EHR (Epic/athena/eClinicalWorks/etc.), and approximate budget, I can narrow this to the best 3 vendors.

• Intechnic Corporation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Upfront Healthcare Services - 500 W Madison St Ste 810, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• DrCare247 - 50 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• Officite - 3010 Highland Pkwy #200, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• TherapySites - 3010 Highland Pkwy, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Incognito Design, Inc. - 343 S Harvey Ave Unit 1, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

Yes. For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration—not just make the site look better.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Intechnic Corporation — Best if UX and patient experience are the priority. They’re downtown at 20 N Wacker and specialize in UX research, digital experience design, and healthcare/pharma projects. This is the strongest option if the portal integration is part of a broader patient-journey redesign.
2. Orbit Media — Best overall Chicago web-agency option. Their healthcare practice explicitly covers HIPAA/HITECH, accessibility, patient portals and EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth. They also emphasize UX and integrations rather than simply handing over a new marketing site. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios
3. ActiveColor — Best if the project may become a custom patient-facing application rather than just a website. They have substantial digital-health experience, including a HIPAA-compliant web application developed with University of Chicago Medicine involving complex user roles, permissions and workflows. ActiveColor ActiveColor
4. WebToMed, LLC — Worth considering if you want a healthcare-specific website + marketing partner rather than a high-end digital-product consultancy. Their focus is medical practices and clinics, with healthcare-oriented web design, SEO and HIPAA-conscious forms/workflows.
5. Intex Agency — A good fit for a smaller practice wanting patient-portal integration + appointment UX + local SEO. Their healthcare offering specifically lists patient portal integration, appointment-booking UX and HIPAA-aware architecture. Intex Agency
6. appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC — Interesting if you want more than a website. Their Chicago-area offering combines healthcare digital strategy, patient-facing technology, portal delivery/usability and EHR interoperability. I'd interview them if the integration/workflow side is substantial.

How I'd narrow it down

For your particular situation, I'd probably invite Orbit Media, Intechnic, and ActiveColor to pitch.

• Orbit: strongest balance of website redesign + healthcare compliance + portal/EHR integration.
• Intechnic: strongest for deep UX research and making the patient journey easier.
• ActiveColor: strongest if you're contemplating custom functionality or a more sophisticated patient portal experience.

One important caveat: “HIPAA-compliant website” isn't enough by itself. Ask each agency exactly what information will flow between the website and your portal/EHR, whether a BAA is provided where required, which integration/API they'll use, and what happens to PHI in analytics, forms, chat, cookies and third-party scheduling tools.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what you want to spend, I can narrow this to the 3 best agencies and compare their likely fit.

For a small healthcare clinic in The Loop that needs a redesign plus patient portal integration, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA-sensitive workflows, accessibility, and integrations with systems like Epic, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, MyChart, etc. Here are Chicago-area firms worth considering:

For a small Loop clinic, I’d probably shortlist:

1. Orbit Media — if the goal is a strong patient-facing website, SEO, accessibility, and integrations. www.orbitmedia.com
2. Flamingo Agency — if you want a smaller-agency relationship and a practical clinic website overhaul. www.flamingoagency.com
3. Intechnic — if the patient portal experience is a major part of the project and you want deeper UX expertise.

When interviewing them, I’d ask:

• Which patient portals/EHRs have you integrated with before?
• Will the portal connection be a secure link-out, embedded experience, or custom API integration?
• How do you handle HIPAA considerations and protected health information?
• Can you improve appointment conversion without making the site feel like a marketing funnel?
• Who owns the website code, content, analytics, and integrations after launch?

For a typical independent clinic, I’d expect a redesign with portal integration to vary widely—roughly $15k–$75k+ depending on whether it is a marketing-site rebuild versus a true patient workflow/platform project.

For a small Loop-area healthcare clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that have actually handled patient portals/EHR integrations—not just agencies that make attractive medical websites.

My shortlist

1. WebToMed, LLC — Strong fit if you want a healthcare-specific website + digital marketing partner. They focus on medical practices and clinics rather than being a generalist agency.

2. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Worth considering if patient acquisition and marketing are as important as the redesign. Their positioning is specifically healthcare/practice growth.

3. Orbit Media — Probably my first call for a more sophisticated redesign/integration project. Orbit explicitly lists patient portals/EHRs such as Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, plus HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. www.orbitmedia.com

4. Radical Software — Particularly interesting because they have a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic case study involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling. That's unusually close to your requirements. theradicalsoftware.com

5. Windy City Web Solutions — A potentially better fit if you're looking for a smaller, hands-on Chicago shop rather than a large agency. Their work includes WordPress sites for healthcare providers.

6. Esco Logics — Their Chicago healthcare offering specifically includes redesigns, patient portals, scheduling and telehealth integrations, along with HIPAA/ADA positioning. escologics.com

One especially relevant case study

Symboliq Media has a Chicago-area pediatric practice case study where it built a custom site with integrated patient portal, scheduling and billing functionality. That's worth examining when evaluating vendors, even if you ultimately choose another agency. symboliqmedia.com

How I'd narrow it down

For your project, I'd send the same brief to Orbit, Radical Software, and WebToMed and ask each to demonstrate:

• A redesign for a small/independent medical practice
• The specific EHR/patient portal they have integrated with
• Whether the portal is merely linked or actually embedded/integrated
• HIPAA-compliant forms and analytics
• ADA/WCAG accessibility testing
• Online scheduling and intake
• Migration of your existing content/SEO
• Who owns the code, hosting and integrations after launch
• Post-launch support and maintenance
• A fixed project estimate and expected timeline

The portal vendor matters enormously here. If you tell me which system the clinic uses—e.g. athenahealth, Epic/MyChart, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, Tebra, AdvancedMD, etc.—I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies with the strongest evidence of working with that particular platform.

For a small healthcare clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle more than visual redesign—especially patient-portal/EHR integration, HIPAA-conscious workflows, accessibility, and patient UX.

My shortlist

1. Clique Studios — Strong choice if you want a polished, strategic redesign rather than a basic medical-site refresh. Their Chicago team does UX research, information architecture, accessibility, application design, and digital transformation.

Best for: UX-heavy redesign + sophisticated digital experience.

2. Orbit Media — Probably the strongest all-around fit to interview. Its healthcare practice explicitly covers patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, migrations, UX, development and ongoing support. It also has healthcare case studies including GoHealth and Augmedics. www.orbitmedia.com

Best for: Website redesign + portal/EHR integration + SEO/growth.

3. UX 4Sight — Particularly interesting if the portal integration is primarily a patient-experience/UX problem. They're in the Loop and focus specifically on UX/UI, research, usability and digital-product design.

Best for: Patient journeys, usability testing and simplifying a confusing existing experience.

4. ActiveColor — A more technically ambitious option. Its healthcare work includes UX/UI, frontend/backend development and HIPAA compliance, with a University of Chicago Medicine-related application case study involving patient-flow management. activecolor.com

Best for: If the portal integration involves substantial custom application development.

5. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — Worth considering if patient acquisition and local visibility matter as much as the redesign. It's healthcare-focused rather than a generalist agency.

Best for: Website + healthcare marketing/lead generation.

6. Windy City Web Solutions — A smaller, more hands-on Chicago option that specifically serves healthcare providers and focuses on WordPress design, accessibility, hosting and ongoing support.

Best for: A smaller-budget clinic wanting a straightforward redesign without a huge-agency process.

One I'd especially investigate for a small clinic

Flamingo Agency specifically markets to small clinics and private practices and says it can integrate online scheduling, secure patient portals and mobile-friendly forms. That makes it a potentially better size/budget fit than a large enterprise digital agency. www.flamingoagency.com

How I'd narrow it to 3

I'd invite Orbit Media, Clique Studios, and Flamingo Agency to the initial RFP:

The key question in the RFP should be: “Show us exactly how you would connect the redesigned public website to our existing patient portal without exposing PHI, and identify which functions should remain inside the portal versus the public site.” Don't accept “HIPAA-compliant” as a marketing checkbox—ask what data crosses the integration, where it is stored, who signs the BAA, and how they test accessibility and security.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to the 3 best Chicago agencies and compare likely project scope/pricing.

For a small clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both a patient-friendly redesign and the less glamorous part: secure integration with your existing EHR/patient portal and scheduling system.

My shortlist

1. Intechnic Corporation — strongest UX/healthcare option
   • Chicago-based at 20 N Wacker.
   • Particularly strong in UX research, information architecture, UX/UI and healthcare/pharma digital experiences.
   • Best if the portal experience itself needs substantial improvement, not just a new marketing site.

2. appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC — healthcare-specific and clinic-oriented
   • Chicago-area healthcare digital agency.
   • Focuses on healthcare websites, patient-facing technology and portal/user-experience work.
   • Worth interviewing if you want an agency that understands smaller practices rather than primarily hospital-scale projects.

3. Taction Software LLC — best if integration is technically complex
   • Chicago office in the West Loop.
   • More of a healthcare IT/custom software firm than a conventional branding agency, making it interesting if you need substantial EHR, scheduling, authentication or portal integration.

4. WebToMed, LLC — practical medical-practice option
   • Healthcare-focused website and digital marketing firm.
   • Specifically works with doctors and clinics and offers medical websites, patient acquisition and portal-related integrations.

5. Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — convenient Loop option
   • Located at 30 N Michigan Ave.
   • More generalist than the healthcare specialists above, but potentially a good fit if the project is primarily brand + website redesign and the portal is an existing system that simply needs to be connected cleanly.

Two agencies I'd add to the RFP

Orbit Media is particularly relevant. Its healthcare practice explicitly lists integration with patient portals and EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH considerations and accessibility. www.orbitmedia.com

Clique Studios is another strong Chicago contender if you want a more sophisticated digital-experience redesign. It lists healthcare among its industries and has a documented healthcare website project; a third-party profile also reports a 4.9/5 rating across 15 reviews. cliquestudios.com

Who I'd interview first

For your particular brief, I'd probably send the RFP to Intechnic, appcetera|MD, Orbit Media, Taction, and Clique Studios.

The key question isn't simply “Can you build us a new website?” Ask each one:

• Which EHR/patient portals have you integrated with?
• Can you show us a live healthcare portal integration, not just a healthcare website?
• How will you prevent PHI from passing through the marketing website/CMS unnecessarily?
• Who owns the integration code and infrastructure?
• How will appointment booking, portal login, forms and referrals work on mobile?
• How do you handle HIPAA, accessibility and security testing?
• What happens when our EHR vendor changes its API?
• Can a small clinic maintain the site without an ongoing large agency retainer?

There are also unusually relevant precedents: Radical Software has a Chicago-area family healthcare clinic case involving patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling, while Symboliq Media has a Chicago-suburb pediatric practice case involving an integrated patient portal, scheduling and billing. theradicalsoftware.com

If budget is important, I'd lean toward appcetera|MD or WebToMed; if UX quality is the priority, Intechnic or Clique; and if the EHR/portal integration is the hardest part, Taction or Orbit.

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the visual/UX redesign and the technical patient-portal/EHR integration—not just healthcare marketing.

My shortlist

1. Intechnic Corporation — strongest UX/product choice
   • Chicago-based, with a strong focus on UX research, UX/UI, and complex healthcare experiences.
   • Particularly interesting if the portal experience itself needs substantial redesign, not merely a “Log into your portal” button.
   • Their healthcare work emphasizes reducing friction across patient journeys. rondesignlab.com
   • Best for: sophisticated patient experience + portal redesign.

2. appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC — strongest integration/health-IT fit
   • Specifically positioned around healthcare digital strategy, patient-facing technology, EHR interoperability, and portals.
   • This could be a particularly good fit if you're dealing with Epic, athenahealth, Cerner, or another existing clinical system.
   • Best for: making the website and existing healthcare technology work together.

3. HiveSourced — potentially good small-practice option
   • Chicago-based and focused heavily on smaller healthcare practices, particularly behavioral health.
   • More likely to be comfortable with a smaller-clinic budget and hands-on engagement than a large enterprise agency.
   • Best for: a relatively straightforward redesign where the portal is primarily an integration rather than a custom application.

4. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — healthcare marketing/growth option
   • Chicago healthcare specialist with an emphasis on patient acquisition and digital performance.
   • I'd consider them if increasing appointment volume and local search visibility are important alongside the redesign.
   • Best for: redesign + patient acquisition/marketing.

5. Windy City Web Solutions — small, local web partner
   • South Loop-based and geared toward smaller organizations, including healthcare providers.
   • More of a practical web-development partner than a specialized digital-health product consultancy.
   • Best for: a simpler, cost-conscious website modernization.

One agency I'd definitely interview

Intechnic Corporation would be my first conversation if the portal integration is a major part of the project.

For a more healthcare-specific development benchmark, ActiveColor is also worth looking at even though its work is broader than a typical small-clinic website. It has done a HIPAA-compliant healthcare application for University of Chicago Medicine involving multiple clinics, hospitals, user roles, permissions, and complex patient/clinical workflows. activecolor.com

Orbit Media is another Chicago option worth getting a proposal from. Its healthcare practice explicitly discusses patient-portal/EHR integrations—including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth—as well as HIPAA/HITECH, accessibility, UX, development and ongoing support. www.orbitmedia.com

Orbit Media healthcare web design

How I'd choose

For your particular project, I'd score proposals roughly like this:

Important: don't let an agency simply say “HIPAA compliant website.” Ask exactly where PHI will live, whether the website will ever collect PHI, what systems the portal connects to, whether a BAA is required, and who is responsible for the integration/security boundary.

If you tell me which portal/EHR the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to and compare them on likely fit.

For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both patient-centered UX and the technical side of portal/EHR integration, rather than a general branding shop.

My shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — best for UX-first redesign
   • Based in the Loop at 111 W Jackson Blvd.
   • Strong fit if the main problem is that patients struggle to find appointments, services, forms, or portal access.
   • Their positioning is specifically UX/UI and research-driven digital experience design.
   • Ask them: Can you take the existing portal/EHR integration and redesign the public website around it without creating a separate patient login experience?

2. Sandstorm Design — best for sophisticated healthcare UX
   • Chicago agency with substantial healthcare experience.
   • Their work with Rush Health included stakeholder interviews, patient/provider research, information architecture, usability testing, and redesign of the digital experience. www.sandstormdesign.com
   • I'd consider them if you want a strategic redesign, not merely a new visual skin.

3. Marcel Digital — best for development + growth
   • Chicago-based and combines UX, web development, SEO, analytics, and conversion optimization.
   • Their Pipeline Health work involved reorganizing healthcare websites around patient journeys, with analytics-informed UX and a substantial platform migration. www.marceldigital.com
   • Probably more agency than a tiny clinic needs, but worth talking to if acquisition/SEO matters.

4. Nexxus IT & Web Solutions LLC — worth considering for integration-heavy work
   • Located directly in the Loop.
   • Particularly interesting if the project involves connecting the website with an EHR/EMR, intake workflows, secure document handling, or other back-office systems.
   • Their local profile specifically describes secure portal/document workflows and healthcare integrations.

5. WebToMed — healthcare-specialist option
   • Healthcare-focused rather than a general digital agency.
   • Their offering includes medical website design, patient acquisition, and portal integration.
   • I'd put them on the RFP list if you want a relatively turnkey clinic website + marketing + patient-access solution.

One particularly relevant benchmark

Radical Software has a Chicago-area family healthcare case study that is unusually close to your situation: the site included patient portal access, appointment scheduling, responsive design, and healthcare-specific service navigation. theradicalsoftware.comwww.orbitmedia.com That's a useful benchmark to ask prospective agencies to match, although I'd verify their current Chicago availability before shortlisting them.

Orbit Media is another strong candidate if you want a more established Chicago web agency. They explicitly describe healthcare work involving patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner, and athenahealth, plus HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. www.orbitmedia.com Their Innovative Care project is also a relevant clinic redesign example. www.orbitmedia.com

What I'd ask in the first calls

Don't just ask “Can you integrate our patient portal?” Ask:

• Which portal/EHR systems have you integrated? Ask for a comparable live example.
• Will the portal remain on the EHR vendor's infrastructure, or are they proposing to replicate patient functionality?
• How will they handle HIPAA, BAAs, analytics, cookies, forms, and third-party scripts?
• Can they conduct patient usability testing before redesigning the navigation?
• Can they improve appointment conversion without putting PHI into ordinary marketing systems?
• Who handles ongoing security, accessibility, CMS updates, and integration failures?
• What happens if the clinic changes EHR/portal vendors later?

For a small clinic, I'd probably get 3 proposals: UX 4Sight, Sandstorm, and either Orbit or a healthcare-specialist shop like WebToMed. That should give you a useful spread between UX quality, healthcare expertise, and implementation/marketing capability.

If you'd like, I can also compare these agencies on likely price range, healthcare experience, portal/EHR integration capability, and suitability for a small clinic.

For a small healthcare clinic in the Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare UX, HIPAA-sensitive workflows, accessibility, appointment conversion, and patient portal/EHR integrations rather than a general branding shop. These Chicago-area agencies are worth considering:

A few other Chicago healthcare/digital specialists to evaluate:

• Evolve Healthcare Marketing — healthcare-focused marketing agency in the Loop area.
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. — physician/medical marketing-focused firm.
• Digital Authority Partners — Chicago digital agency with product and digital strategy capabilities.

For a small clinic, I’d probably shortlist:

1. Orbit Media — if the main need is a modern website, SEO, accessibility, and smoother patient journeys.
2. Monogram — if the patient portal integration is the hardest part (Epic, athenahealth, Cerner, custom APIs, etc.).
3. Radical Software — if you need more custom software work without enterprise-agency overhead.

When interviewing them, ask:

• Which EHRs/portals have you integrated with (Epic MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.)?
• How do you handle HIPAA-related website workflows?
• Will portal access remain inside the EHR vendor’s secure environment, or are you proposing custom handling of patient data?
• Can you improve appointment conversion and reduce front-desk phone volume?
• Who owns the CMS, codebase, and integrations after launch?

If you share the clinic type (primary care, specialty, dental, behavioral health, etc.) and current portal/EHR vendor, the shortlist can be narrowed further.

Yes. For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the visual redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration—not just a pretty marketing site.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — strongest overall fit
   • Chicago-based and has a dedicated healthcare web practice.
   • Explicitly works with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, plus HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Their healthcare portfolio includes a redesign for Innovative Care, so they have experience with smaller healthcare organizations rather than only hospital systems. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Best for: a polished redesign + integration + ongoing SEO/CRO.
   • Orbit Media Studios

2. Eight Bit Studios — best if the portal experience is substantial
   • More of a product/software studio than a traditional marketing agency.
   • Strong combination of UX, product strategy and engineering, which I'd favor if you're contemplating a more sophisticated patient-facing experience rather than simply linking to an existing portal.
   • Best for: custom patient workflows, apps, integrations, or a portal experience that needs significant UX work.

3. Pivot Design — best for healthcare brand/experience work
   • Chicago agency focused heavily on healthcare and life sciences.
   • Particularly interesting if the redesign needs to modernize the clinic's brand, messaging and patient experience, not merely its website.
   • Best for: repositioning a clinic and creating a more distinctive, patient-friendly experience.

4. Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — worth considering for a smaller-budget redesign
   • Downtown Chicago web/design agency with a more generalist profile.
   • I'd put it behind the healthcare specialists above for a portal-heavy project, but it could make sense if the portal itself is already handled by your EHR and the job is primarily website/branding.

One specialist I'd also interview

ActiveColor isn't a Chicago-headquartered agency, but its healthcare credentials are unusually relevant. It has built HIPAA-compliant healthcare applications involving UX strategy, information architecture, UI design, backend development and complex patient/user flows, including a project with University of Chicago Medicine. activecolor.com

ActiveColor

Who I'd put on the RFP

For your particular project, I'd invite Orbit + ActiveColor + Eight Bit Studios to scope it. I'd expect Orbit to be the strongest conventional agency choice, ActiveColor to be strongest on healthcare product/UX, and Eight Bit to be strongest if the portal integration becomes a genuine software project.

One important caveat: don't accept "HIPAA-compliant website" as a checkbox. Ask each agency to explain exactly where PHI will and won't flow, what systems they're integrating with, whether a BAA is required/provided, and how they will handle authentication, analytics, forms and third-party tracking.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare their likely fit.

For a small Loop clinic, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the visual redesign and the patient-portal/EHR integration rather than a general branding shop.

My shortlist

1. Intechnic Corporation — best for UX-heavy redesigns
   • Chicago-based digital experience consultancy with substantial healthcare/pharma experience.
   • Strong fit if the existing site is confusing and you want a genuinely better patient journey, not just a visual refresh.
   • Particularly worth interviewing for UX research, information architecture, accessibility, and complex integrations.

2. Orbit Media — best all-around Chicago web agency
   • Specifically discusses healthcare sites, HIPAA/HITECH, ADA accessibility, and integration with patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth. www.orbitmedia.com
   • They also have healthcare redesign experience, making them a particularly sensible choice for a clinic rather than a digital-health startup.

3. ActiveColor — best if the portal integration is substantial
   • Their healthcare practice includes custom web applications, UX/UI, mobile apps and HIPAA-compliant systems. activecolor.com
   • Their University of Chicago Medicine project involved a complex HIPAA-compliant application with multiple healthcare organizations, permissions and user workflows. activecolor.com
   • This is the one I'd investigate if your "portal integration" goes beyond simply putting a "Patient Login" button on the new site.

4. Esco Logics — potentially good small-clinic option
   • Explicitly markets healthcare redesigns for small clinics and discusses patient portals, appointment scheduling, telehealth, HIPAA and ADA accessibility. escologics.com
   • Worth getting a proposal from if budget and hands-on service are more important than a large-agency pedigree.

5. Intex Agency — worth a proposal for portal + booking
   • Specifically lists patient-portal integration, appointment-booking UX and HIPAA-aware architecture among its healthcare web capabilities. intex-agency.com

How I'd narrow it down

For your particular project, I'd interview Orbit, ActiveColor and Intechnic first.

One important procurement point: ask each agency to identify exactly what they mean by "HIPAA compliant." The marketing website should generally be architected so that PHI isn't unnecessarily passing through the CMS, analytics, forms, or third-party marketing tools. Ask them to map the patient journey from website → scheduling → portal → EHR, identify where PHI exists, and specify which vendors will sign BAAs.

If you tell me which EHR/patient portal the clinic uses (Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what you'd like to spend, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually request proposals from.

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both the patient-facing redesign and the technical portal/EHR integration, rather than hiring a pure branding or SEO shop.

Shortlist I’d consider

1. Rightpoint — strongest technical/UX choice
   • Chicago-based and particularly strong in healthcare digital experiences.
   • Their healthcare work includes patient UX, appointment scheduling, provider search, telemedicine, and integrations with health-tech systems. One healthcare project increased online appointment bookings by 300%. www.rightpoint.com
   • Caveat: They are probably more agency than a small clinic needs, so get a scoped proposal before assuming they're cost-effective.

2. WebToMed, LLC — practical small-practice option
   • Healthcare-focused web design and digital marketing, aimed specifically at medical practices and clinics.
   • Worth considering if you want a more turnkey website + patient acquisition approach rather than a large digital-transformation engagement.

3. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — healthcare-specialist option
   • Chicago-based and focused specifically on healthcare/medical-practice growth.
   • More compelling if the redesign also needs to improve patient acquisition, local search, conversion and ongoing marketing.

4. Practice Tech Solutions — operational/practice-tech angle
   • Healthcare-focused and offers website/digital marketing work alongside practice-oriented technology such as online booking, digital intake and telehealth.
   • Located in Northbrook rather than the Loop, but potentially a good fit for a smaller practice.

5. Pivot Design — best if brand/experience is the main problem
   • Chicago agency specializing in healthcare and life sciences, with substantial experience translating complicated healthcare information into clearer patient communications.
   • I'd put them on the list if the clinic's brand, messaging and patient experience need as much attention as the website itself.

One specialist worth a look

Radical Software has a particularly relevant published case study: they built a healthcare clinic website for a Chicago-suburban family medicine practice that included patient-portal integration and appointment scheduling. theradicalsoftware.com That's unusually close to your stated project, so I'd include them in the RFP even though they're not one of the larger Chicago agencies.

How I'd narrow it down

For a small Loop clinic, my first three calls would be:

The key issue I'd raise in the first meeting isn't simply "Can you integrate our patient portal?" Ask them to demonstrate exactly how they would integrate it without exposing PHI through the website, analytics, forms, chat, cookies, or third-party marketing tools. Also ask whether they have already integrated your specific EHR/portal (e.g. Epic/MyChart, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.).

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR the clinic uses and roughly what budget you have (e.g. $15–30k, $30–75k, $75k+), I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies and compare likely fit, cost level, healthcare experience, and portal-integration capability.

For a small healthcare clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can handle both patient-centered UX and the technical realities of portal/EHR integration, rather than hiring a general branding shop.

My shortlist

1. UX 4Sight — best fit for UX-first redesign
   • Based in the Loop at 111 W Jackson Blvd.
   • Strong focus on UX/UI, usability and patient-facing digital experiences.
   • I’d consider them if the biggest problem is that the current site is confusing, dated, or difficult for patients to navigate.
   • Caveat: confirm they can directly manage your portal/EHR integration rather than simply designing the interface.

2. Sandstorm Design — best for sophisticated healthcare UX
   • Chicago-based and has documented healthcare work, including a user-centered redesign for Rush Health. www.sandstormdesign.com
   • Particularly interesting if you need accessibility, information architecture, stakeholder research and a more substantial digital-experience overhaul.
   • Probably a better fit for a clinic that wants a strategic partner rather than just a website contractor.

3. Marcel Digital — best for development + growth
   • Chicago-based, with a Loop office at 20 N Wacker.
   • Its healthcare work includes rebuilding Pipeline Health's web ecosystem, including patient-centered UX, information architecture, analytics and SEO migration. www.marceldigital.com
   • Good choice if the redesign also needs SEO, analytics, CMS, development and ongoing optimization.

4. One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a larger digital-platform project
   • Located at 227 W Monroe in the Loop.
   • Offers UX/UI, service design, engineering and digital-platform work.
   • I'd consider them if the portal integration is technically complicated or you anticipate expanding the site into a broader patient-services platform.

5. Evolve Healthcare Marketing — best healthcare-specialist option
   • Chicago-based and focused specifically on healthcare/medical-practice growth.
   • More attractive if the redesign needs to improve patient acquisition, local search and marketing as well as the website itself.
   • I'd ask for concrete examples of portal integrations before putting them ahead of the UX/development specialists above.

One especially relevant benchmark

Radical Software has a Chicago-area family healthcare case study that is unusually close to your project: its site describes a clinic website with patient portal access, appointment scheduling, responsive design and healthcare-specific service navigation. theradicalsoftware.com

Likewise, Orbit Media is worth putting on the RFP list if you're open to a larger Chicago agency. Its healthcare practice explicitly discusses patient portals/EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, along with HIPAA/HITECH, accessibility, UX and healthcare website development. www.orbitmedia.com

How I'd narrow it down

For a small Loop clinic, I'd interview UX 4Sight, Sandstorm, Marcel Digital and Orbit Media first.

In the RFP, don't just ask “Can you integrate our patient portal?” Ask:

• Which portal/EHR platforms have you actually integrated?
• Can patients log in from our website without exposing PHI?
• Will the portal remain hosted by the EHR/vendor, or are you proposing a custom authentication layer?
• How will you handle HIPAA, accessibility/WCAG and analytics?
• Can you integrate appointment scheduling, forms, telehealth and portal access?
• Who owns the CMS, code and design system after launch?
• What ongoing maintenance/security support is included?
• Can you show us 2–3 healthcare projects for organizations roughly our size, not just large hospital systems?

That last point matters: a beautiful hospital website portfolio doesn't necessarily mean an agency understands the budget, staffing and integration constraints of a small independent clinic.