The Better Design System 2.0.0 release represents a significant maturation of the component library, focusing on production stability, developer experience, and real-world healthcare application needs.
This isn’t just an incremental update, it’s a refinement of everything teams have been building with since the start. Our goal for this release cycle was to address feedback from production implementations, improve component flexibility and establish stronger foundations for theming and customisation. We’ve resolved bugs, introduced meaningful enhancements to core components, and modernised our build infrastructure to support evolving healthcare workflows.
Enhanced component flexibility
Healthcare interfaces demand adaptability. The same component needs to work across different contexts, screen sizes, and data types while maintaining consistency and accessibility.
BDS 2.0.0 introduces significant improvements to component flexibility and configurability.
Combobox and select evolution
Our form selection components have been completely refactored to handle more complex scenarios. Combobox and Select now supports suffix icons in options for visual hierarchy and works seamlessly with split fieldand offers consistent sizing options across all use cases.
The enhanced Combobox and Select are now capable of:
- Tag and option suffix icons for visual categorisation and status indication
- Integration with split fields enabling structured, multi-part value selection
- Consistent sizing (small, medium, large) matching other form components
- Improved value handling supporting strings, objects, and complex data structures
These improvements are particularly valuable for:
🔍 Medication searches requiring drug classification indicators
📋 Structured data entry with complex identifiers
🏥 Clinical workflows combining codes with human-readable labels
Form groups with extended options
Based on production feedback, we’ve added an “Other” slot to Checkbox groups, Radio groups, and Form button groups. This pattern handles real-world scenarios where predefined options aren’t sufficient.
The “Other” slot enables:
- Free-text input alongside structured choices maintaining data quality while allowing flexibility
- Conditional visibility controlled by consuming applications
- Consistent styling that integrates seamlessly with existing options
This feature supports:
✅ Assessment forms requiring “Other, please specify” options
📝 Consent forms with custom conditions
🔘 Configuration interfaces needing extensibility
Accessibility and standards compliance
Accessibility isn’t optional in healthcare. This release includes systematic ARIA improvements and better screen reader support.
With this release we were able to provide:
- Fixed aria-labelled by on Checkbox and Radio groups
- Enhanced icon accessibility with comprehensive aria-label examples
- Improved focus management across all interactive components
- Better keyboard navigation with consistent patterns
Icon library expansion
We’ve added new icon sets supporting broader application needs:
📁 Export, import, and updated the trash icons
🤝 New icons for the collaboration module
🔧 Improved icon alignment across all sizes and contexts
Table enhancements
Tables are workhorses of clinical interfaces, displaying everything from patient lists to lab results. We’ve fixed critical issues and added capabilities that teams have been requesting.
These improvements are:
- Refined background tokens for better hover and selection states
- Refined the infinite scroll behaviour through architectural refactoring
- Selective column sorting allowing precise control over sortable columns
These fixes matter most for:
📊 Large patient registries with hundreds or thousands of records
🔬 Lab result tables requiring quick sorting and filtering
What is next for Better Design System?
BDS 2.0.0 establishes a stable foundation for healthcare interface development. Future releases will build on this groundwork with new patterns and expanded capabilities.
In the coming months, you can expect:
🧩 Additional navigational components
🎨 Component design tokens integration
We’re building a design system that grows with your needs. BDS is refined by production use, strengthened by community feedback, and ready for the next generation of healthcare applications. Do you want to know more about Better Design System?
