What is a patient portal? | Benefits, features and options for 2022 (2023)

Overview

Patient portals improve the way patients and healthcare professionals interact. a product ofmeaningful userequirements, were ordered as a way to provide patients with timely access to their medical care. Specifically, patient portals give patients access to their health information to play a more active role.

There are two main types of patient portals: a standalone system and an integrated service. The integrated functionality of patient portal software typically comes as part of an EMR system, EHR system, orpractice management software🇧🇷 But at their most basic, they are simply web-based tools.

You can use the patient portals to retrieve lab results, ask questions, or update patient and insurance profiles. Some patient portals also allow patients to book appointments and pay bills directly through the system. Providers represent an opportunity to increase patient engagement, promote loyalty, manage costs, and optimize workflows.

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Main benefits

Regardless of the type of platform you choose, your patient portal can provide your patients with secure online access to their medical details and increase their engagement with your practice. And not to mention, it does so while also providing a host of benefits for healthcare professionals. Some of these benefits include:

fast growth

More and more healthcare providers have introduced their own patient portals as the medical industry has shifted its focus towards patient-centered care. Organizations that offer patients access to their medical records are on the rise. As a result, an increasing number of patients are registering and actively using these services.

A report by the National Health IT Coordinator (ONC) revealed that “more than 90% of hospitals allow patients access to their medical records, with 72% of organizations offering patients full viewing, downloading and streaming capabilities.” That being said, for more than half of these facilities, less than 25% of patients actually adopt and use them. Health care organizations are working to add additional tools and resources, in part to involve more patients in the entire care process.

Increased office efficiency

Implementing a patient portal for your medical practice can increase efficiency in your practice by making communication between you and your patients more manageable. Patient portals help save time enrolling new clients by allowing them to fill out personal information electronically without having to answer the same questions over and over again. This also results in fewer errors and inconsistencies regarding a patient's file.

Patients can also more easily communicate with their providers. They do not have to wait to receive lab results by phone or by mail. Instead, they can do it simply by logging into your portal. Patients can exchange messages with their doctors at any time. This can save receptionists and nurses time, especially since messages appear in real time. In addition, they can send automatic reminders to patients for upcoming appointments, which helps reduce no-shows, allowing their doctors to treat more patients daily.

Optimized workflow

Using a patient portal can also streamline workflows in your practice. Your receptionists and nurses no longer have to deal with simple, non-urgent inquiries over the phone, as office staff can transfer these communications online. This reserves your phone lines and office staff time for more pressing health needs.

Promotion of Telemedicine

Patient portals can also reduce unnecessary patient visits to your office, allowing you to include more patients who really need to see you. This can help facilitate telemedicine, which allows patients to see you through messages or video calls.

For example, instead of scheduling an appointment with their doctor for a change in drug dosages, the patient can check through the patient portal. Using this feature allows you to keep this appointment open for a patient who has an illness that requires in-person diagnosis and prescription or who needs immediate medical attention.

Improve patient engagement

Patient portals not only help provide patient-centered care, but also reinforce patient engagement. For one, it gives patients access to medical records and helps doctors and clinical staff stay connected with patients via email. This increases patient satisfaction, leading to higher client retention in clinics. With this changing dynamic, more and more clinics are adopting patient portals to provide better patient care and experience.

fewer medical errors

When receptionists and other staff at a doctor's office take calls, they must relay the information patients give to nurses and doctors. This sometimes leads to misinterpretations of the patient's needs and medical problems. Being able to receive written messages from patients allows you and your staff to correctly interpret what your patients need, so you are well informed and can make the right decisions.

Additionally,telemedicine toolswithin patient portals, which we just discussed, can help patients receive more effective medications the first time. The software can automatically check for any drug-drug or drug-allergy interactions based on the patient's diagnosis and current medications, even before a prescription is filled.

Other benefits

Using a patient portal allows you to send appointment and payment reminders, as well as schedule annual exams with your patients. This helps save time by automating the scheduling process and ensuring patients are always informed.

The portals may also provide their patients with billing information, consent forms, educational materials, and test results to keep them informed about their health. Sending educational materials and test results can save time spent explaining every little detail during an office visit. Plus, this allows you to see more patients each day. If your patients have urgent questions, they can request more details through the patient portal or wait until their next appointment.

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notable challenges

While many people have already used a patient portal, they have mixed opinions at best. As you can see in the previous section, patient portals offer many benefits. But unfortunately, its potential has not yet been fully exploited.

Some patient portals are difficult to access, poorly designed, difficult to navigate, and of limited utility. These drops make it more likely that patients will pick up the phone and call their provider about a simple problem, voiding benefits. And when it comes to your staff and physicians, poor patient portals can consume time and resources that are often not billable.

Additionally, this generation of patient portals are compatible with web browsers instead of mobile devices. With mobile apps flooding healthcare industries, it is high time that organizations invest in R&D to make portals mobile friendly.

Third-party plugins are another factor that undermines patient interest in using patient portals. These unique applications do not meet the individual needs of patients and therefore make the system unwieldy.

emerging trends

If patient portals are heterogeneous, why should the patient portal be given greater consideration in the EHR, EMR, and practice management selection processes? Cause when you look at the streamTrends in technology for health care., patient portals are on their way to getting better. Some of these trends include:

value-based care

First, as healthcare moves from fee-for-service tovalue-based care, providers will have more incentive to improve the patient experience, track adherence, and manage costs. In addition to improving patient health and facilitating wellness, patient portals have the potential to increase the accuracy of information, reduce duplication, and reduce time spent on patient records, payments, and prescription refills.

Data

The future of health and medicine points to the importance of data. Use ofbig data analyticswill grow faster in healthcare than any other industry, with a projected growth rate of more than 19% by the year 2032. In addition, patient portals can provide a treasure trove of information not captured in one visit to the physician or in a clinical interaction. This can result in a betterpopulation health managementand increased ability to track patient engagement and improve adherence to treatment plans.

patient as consumer

Patient portals will grow in popularity as patients become consumers of healthcare. Increasingly, they want better and faster access to their health information and to participate in the medical decision-making process. Patient portals are a natural extension of the trend of going online to select a provider or research medical conditions and treatments. They will expect a positive user experience, rewarding those who provide it with their loyalty.

mobile apps

The increasing use of mobile apps, smartphones, and wearable devices has increased the demand for patient portals. This has increased the follow-up and the burden of information on the physical activity and health of patients. This, in turn, has made patients more health conscious, leading to more self-management and data sharing with patient portals.

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How to use a patient portal

With patient portals, the first and most important thing you will need is a computer and an Internet connection. Create a personalized user account in the software to enjoy medical services on your own. After entering the patient portal, click on the links and products sold by the provider and experience a new experience. Configure the portal according to your needs and receive messages, reminders and notifications to stay up to date with the latest services and products.

Solution Evaluation

Now that you know what a patient portal is, and given its potential and growing importance, how should you evaluate the best portal for your practice or facility?

You can select a standalone patient portal that is often hosted via the cloud by a third-party provider as a healthcare provider. This approach can lead to incompatibility issues with your EMR and/or EHR system, requiring vendor cooperation, often at a price.

Alternatively, you can select a patient portal as part of an EHR, EMR, or practice management software. The good news is that almost all of these systems provide a patient portal component. When evaluating your product, you should remember that patient portals are not all created equal and can differ drastically in functionality and usability. For that you have to take into account:

1. Cost

The cost of patient portal software varies, while some come with the purchase of a healthcare IT system. Consider whether or not your solution offers training, maintenance, troubleshooting, and updates, and whether or not they charge an additional fee for any of these.

2. Personalization

Ideally, you want your patient portal to be flexible (especially if you're a specialty practice). It's a good idea to choose a solution with a configurable interface that best suits your specific practice.

3. Patient management

Does the patient portal provide the ability to refill prescriptions, monitor compliance, track patient progress, schedule/cancel appointments, pay bills, upload documents, and download practice forms? While not all patient portals offer this complete list of features, be sure to narrow down which ones are essential for your users.

4. Communication

One thing to consider is how easy it is for a prospective system to get doctors and patients to send and receive messages. Patients must be able to upload documents quickly without frustration.

5. Patient access

For patients who do not use the software on a daily basis, it is a good idea to consider how accessible the patient portal will be. You want sign-in to be as simple and straightforward as possible, and to be available across multiple devices.

6. Usability and Navigation

Think about what the user experience will be like. It is important to choose a system that is intuitive, easy to use and easy to navigate. It's also good to make sure that patient-accessible information, such as test results, is compiled in an understandable format. It is also worth considering whether or not the portal considers the visually impaired and non-English speaking.

7. Content

Patients should be able to see lab results and keep track of immunizations, medications, and allergies. In addition, they must be able to access personal information, notes, and medical records. Many patient portals will provide an online healthcare library of educational resources that patients may find helpful.

8. Security

It is important to ensure that your solution is HIPAA compliant to ensure privacy. You want a secure connection that can deliver stored data and protect against data breaches. Make sure your solution also complies with legal and confidentiality requirements for minors.

9. yourself

Patient portals are evolving, gaining more acceptance and growing in importance. Not every EHR can address all of these considerations in a way that meets your needs. Its components are only part of the equation; the other part is you and your commitment. Will you provide training to your nurses, doctors and staff? Will you actively encourage patients to use the patient portal?

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final thoughts

It is clear that the use of patient portal software can bring many benefits to your medical practice. After taking these considerations into account, you should be ready to start using a patient portal. The only decision left to make is which platform you will use. Consider taking a look at ourBest Medical Software Comparisonocreate your own requirements checklistto get an idea of ​​what to look for.

Do you have any questions about the patient portals or what they do? How has your healthcare organization benefited from using these portals? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.