Patient portals can do more than just show records
Patient portals provide a secure online website for patients to access their health data anywhere and at any time. In today’s connected world, many patients at times demand that they should be able to access their own healthcare information securely and easily. Patient portal do not just provide patients with convivence of healthcare data access, but patient portals can alleviate some resources to allow a medical practice to dedicate limited human resources to direct patient care. Patient portals can provide rudimentary services such as access to view schedule visits, recent doctor visits, immunization records, medication records, or lab results. However, patient portals can be built to handle more complex task such as requesting non-urgent appointments, request prescription refill, send and recieve secure messages with a patient’s healthcare provider.
Advantage of patient portal
A main advantage of patient portal is that data can be updated in real time. While patient health records are only updated when a patient visit. Without a patient portal as an intermediary between visits, patients would not be able to access their data stored in electronic health records. Patient portals can be customized to restrict how much information can be presented when access by patients. A more comprehensive request for health records can be submitted to access more sensitive data. Patient portal applications reduce time consuming encounters between patients and providers. This allows the patients to take an active role in their healthcare in exchange for information. To achieve beneficial patient portal use, it is important to provide patients with a enjoyable experience and ease in gaining access to their health information through the portal. Often this requirement can be broken down to building a portal that patients will find useful, meets their expectation, and comfort level of use.
Consider how the patient portal will be use.
Before deploying a patient portal, the practice should consider how the healthcare providers and patients will use the patient portal. Should patients be able to request a service through the portal? How will patients obtain information about their health? Will the patient be able to ask their physician questions? What information will the patient need to submit before requests are made? How will patient inquires be answer? Will an e-mail response be adequate, or should the patients be contacted by phone? These questions need to be address to effectively integrate a patient portal with a clinic’s workflow. Delay responses to patient inquires will likely discourage use of the patient portal service.
Promote the patient portal.
Every encounter a clinic has with a patient is an opportunity to promote the utility of the patient portal. Promotion of the patient portal can be done through outreach or simply during visits to the clinic. To do this effectively, office staff members who interacts with patients during check in or check out can encourage patients to sign up for access. Access can be difficult for some patients who may not be comfortable with computers. To make this a less challenging task, consider printing flyers with instructions on how to register. Patients will buy in to using the patient portal only if the entire medical and support staff use and promotes the portal.
If your clinic is considering different ways for patients to get medical information, give our specialist a call at 800-765-7510 to learn how
Datafiedcan help you meet your practice requirements.
