advantages and disadvantages of patient portal

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

Nov 11, 2021 · Below are some of the pros and cons of patient portals: Pros Fast communication Portals provide physicians with a fast and easy way to communicate with chronically ill patients. They are a place to get complete and more accurate patient information. Patient engagement

How to optimize patient portals for patient engagement?

Feb 17, 2016 · Pro: Better communication with chronically ill patients. One of the clearest benefits to a patient portal is the added ability for communication between patients and providers, and these benefits are felt strongest with regard to chronically ill patients. READ MORE: How Do Patient Portals and Personal Health Records Differ?

What do the best patient portals have in common?

Patient Portal Advantages And Disadvantages The Affordable Care Act. Introduction: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) There can be no gainsaying as... Liver Biopsy. It can assess the response of the treatment in chronic hepatitis , …

How to achieve patient engagement with a patient portal?

Mar 23, 2021 · The greatest advantage to patient portals is the level of connectivity you have with your doctor. Most portals include a direct messaging function that enables you to message your doctor at any time of day with your questions. This saves you a significant amount of time.

What are the disadvantages of patient portal?

Even though they should improve communication, there are also disadvantages to patient portals....Table of ContentsGetting Patients to Opt-In.Security Concerns.User Confusion.Alienation and Health Disparities.Extra Work for the Provider.Conclusion.

What are two advantages of having a patient portal system?

By giving patients online access, staff can be freed up from scheduling appointments, writing down refill needs, and answer questions about referrals. Not to mention reporting on lab results and taking messages for physicians.

What are the advantages of patient portals to the patient and to the healthcare facility?

The Benefits of a Patient Portal You can access all of your personal health information from all of your providers in one place. If you have a team of providers, or see specialists regularly, they can all post results and reminders in a portal. Providers can see what other treatments and advice you are getting.

What is the purpose of a patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits. Discharge summaries.

How effective are patient portals?

Patient portal interventions were overall effective in improving a few psychological outcomes, medication adherence, and preventive service use. There was insufficient evidence to support the use of patient portals to improve clinical outcomes.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

The researchers found no demographic differences among nonusers who said that a technology hurdle, lack of internet access or no online medical record was the reason why they did not make use of a patient portal.

How do patient portals improve patient engagement?

Engaging patients in the delivery of health care has the potential to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

What are the pros and cons of a patient portal?

Pro: Better communication with chronically ill patients. One of the clearest benefits to a patient portal is the added ability for communication between patients and providers, and these benefits are felt strongest with regard to chronically ill patients. With the secure messaging functions on patient portals, chronically ill patients are able ...

Why are patient portals viewed negatively?

Because it is quite clear that providers cannot control the actions of their patients, portals are sometimes viewed negatively because providers struggle with this meaningful use attestation requirement.

How are patient portals accessed?

To make sure that your private health information is safe from unauthorized access, patient portals are hosted on a secure connection and accessed via an encrypted, password-protected logon.

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals, generally speaking, are a health IT interface on which patients can view their own protected health information (PHI). Although this can be viewed as a good thing because patients do have the right to see their own health data, it also opens doors for security concerns.

How much does online patient engagement improve chronic disease management?

A recent study out of Kaiser Permanente of Southern California (KPSC) shows that online patient engagement through patient portals can actually improve chronic disease management by almost 10 percent, depending upon the condition.

What is portal email?

The portal is just a secure e-mail system that we can use to communicate. You can send me a message and it goes right into your chart, so I have all of your information at hand when I read it and respond. If you use it and don’t like it, you don’t have to continue to use it. Just let us know.

Do you need to protect your password on a patient portal?

Although patient portals use safeguards, there are other safety tips you should follow when accessing the patient portal. Always remember to protect your username and password from others and make sure to only log on to the patient portal from a personal computer or secure computer.

Case Study : Patient Portal Re Engagement Essay

Patient Portal Re-Engagement Kamoi Hewitt Chamberlin College of Nursing Professor’s Name Date Introduction Re-engagement with patients who do not sign up for patient portal is an important aspect of enhancing and improving health communication and outcomes with the patient.

The Affordable Care Act

Introduction: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) There can be no gainsaying as to the fact that a large fraction of the American citizenry remains devoid of health insurance. This means that average Americans, running into millions, find it increasingly difficult to access healthcare of whatever nature.

Liver Biopsy

nature of liver diseases 7,8. It can assess the response of the treatment in chronic hepatitis , and specific for grading (necroinflammatory activity) and staging (fibrosis) in most patients, also for evaluating steatosis which facilitate the accurate diagnosis and the therapeutic outcome 9.

Essay On Knee Osteoarthritis

The patient may also complain of crepitation being heard during movement due to irregularity of the joint surfaces in the knee gliding over one another. Knee osteoarthritis is characterized by structural changes in the knee seen on radiographs involving loss

The Pros And Cons Of Electronic Health Record Systems Essay

financial incentives, and increased efficiency and productivity. Organizational outcomes and societal benefits are also addressed. Despite the tremendous amount of benefits, studies in the literature highlight potential disadvantages of electronic health record systems.

Importance Of Airtel And Reliable Service Essay

risk factors, benefits, recommendation according to local health patterns and cost-benefit analysis constitute the primary information of this report. Other than this, it is also important to address the local public policy maker for advocating the advantage associated with the implementation of record system.

Ethical Ethics And Ethical Hacking

ethical hacking. In short, the DoD’s successful hacking event led to the discussion of using ethical hacking in the healthcare industry and the apprehensions some may have towards it. Assessing the Advantages & Disadvantages The article by Slabodkin (2016) addresses advantages and disadvantages regarding ethical hacking in the

What is the advantage of patient portals?

The greatest advantage to patient portals is the level of connectivity you have with your doctor. Most portals include a direct messaging function that enables you to message your doctor at any time of day with your questions.

Why are patient portals important?

In the medical world, patient portals are a favorite tool for simplifying contact between patients and their doctors. Healthcare providers are particularly enthusiastic about them since they can streamline office life.

What is patient portal?

Patient portals provide you access to your protected health information. While this is a tremendous convenience for you, it’s also convenient for hackers and healthcare data thieves.

Why are patients reluctant to use patient portals?

Many patients cite this potential lack of security as a reason for their reluctance to use patient portals. While it is a critical concern, there are ways to make patient portals more secure.

What are the benefits of a healthcare portal?

This streamlining takes many forms. One of the principal benefits of a healthcare portal is the freedom it gives you as a doctor.

Do patients use patient portals?

Unfortunately, while patient portals offer a great deal of direct ownership to patients, many people don ’t use them. In a 2017 study by the University of Michigan, roughly 60% of patients did not use their providers’ patient portals.

Is the portal a benefit for doctors?

Overall, these tools are a net benefit for both doctors and patients . If you want more control over your health, ask your provider about their portal today!

Getting Patients to Opt-In

It’s a disadvantage of both the provider and patient when clients decide not to use a patient portal. Patients are missing out on the potential benefits available to them. Providers also need to spend more time going over information with the patient that they could just access on the portal.

Security Concerns

The AMA also says that security concerns are the reason why 22% of people aren’t taking advantage of these services. These concerns were more common in patients over 40 years old.

User Confusion and Anxiety

There’s always the risk of confusion when using a new online platform. Trying to learn all the functionalities can take some time. This is why some accounts offer new user tours to guide the person through all of the features.

Alienation and Health Disparities

Other disadvantages of patient portals include alienation and health disparities. Alienation between patient and provider occurs for those who don’t access these tools. Sometimes, this is due to health disparities if a person doesn’t have a method for using them.

Extra Work for the Provider

With each of the disadvantages of patient portals that I already mentioned comes unintended extra work for the provider. Doctors want their clients to use this service they offer but opt-in rates are still low among patients.

Conclusion

Patient portals are set up to be a benefit for clients. When people opt-in to using these services, they can use quick on-demand features to make their health experience better. For instance, it’s easier to obtain medical records, immunizations, prescription information, and other details.

Why is patient portal important?

Improving patient satisfaction and the patient experience is a key imperative in healthcare, and patient portals and data access can help drive that goal . Healthcare providers should consider their patients’ preferences for accessing their medical information when forming opinions about open data access.

What is patient health data access?

August 10, 2017 - Patient health data access is a generally accepted patient engagement strategy that helps to empower patients through improved health literacy and integration into the care team.

Why do doctors withhold lab results?

At MD Anderson Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic, providers withhold lab results from patients for a short period of time to ensure the provider can review the data before the patient sees it , the JAMA article said. This allows providers to prepare for how patients will react to the information.

Why is access to medical records important?

Patient access to health data and medical records is an important tactic for patient safety. Patients who view their medical records can serve as a second set of eyes to ensure that medical histories and other information are accurate. For example, patients can review medication notes and flag a dosage error.

Why do doctors use notes?

Doctors may use their notes as an opportunity to make an observation about non-compliance, which may not be received positive ly by patients later reviewing the notes.

How many patients viewed their medical information between August 2014 and August 2015?

Over 6,000 patients viewed their medical information between August 2014 and August 2015, and 8 percent of those patients used the feedback function.

Is patient portal still used?

Although patient portals are getting used by providers across the country, there are still some major pros and cons experts must understand to fully assess the current state of patient data access.

What happens when patients cannot communicate in real time?

When patients cannot communicate in real time, providers can miss opportunities to identify nonadherence. Thus, there is heavy focus on designing portals and apps similar to MyMeds, which incorporates bidirectional communication between providers and patients.

How does mHealth affect pharmacy?

mHealth could affect specialty pharmacies in several ways. Specialty pharmacies manage patients with rare and chronic diseases that require high-cost and complex medications; thus, it is important to have adequate clinical support. Some patient portals and apps include adherence notifications, adverse effect mitigation strategies, and clinical management of disease and therapy. With secure e-mail messaging through patient portals, patients can quickly report adverse effects or dose adjustments, which may be beneficial when the physician’s office is closed.

What apps do patients use to re-adhere to their medication?

For instance, a patient who wants to increase medication adherence can use apps such as PatientPartner, Medisafe, Dosecast, MedHelper, My Pillbox, or MyMeds. While the variation in mHealth apps caters to patient preferences, the lack of standardization leads to drawbacks for providers. For example, many of these apps either track data differently or, in many cases, do not relay information back to the provider. Patients may record their missed doses through these apps—while refilling their medications on time. This may portray to providers that their patients adhere to their medication even when they do not. When patients cannot communicate in real time, providers can miss opportunities to identify nonadherence. Thus, there is heavy focus on designing portals and apps similar to MyMeds, which incorporates bidirectional communication between providers and patients.

Why is mHealth important in pharmacy?

As patient portals and mHealth apps evolve , incorporation of technology in specialty pharmacies presents an excellent opportunity for improving patient care. Ultimately, mHealth technology allows patients to play a role in managing their health and is another form of communication with providers that can lead to better patient outcomes.

What is mobile health?

Mobile health (mHealth) is a means of providing health services or information via portals or applications (apps) on wireless devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Patient portals are secure websites that help patients access their health information at their convenience. Many patient portals are mobile enabled via a web-based platform ...

Is a patient portal a form of mHealth?

Many patient portals are mobile enabled via a web-based platform and are therefore considered a form of mHealth. Patient-focused mHealth apps—software or programs stored directly on the mobile device—can provide an opportunity for patient-initiated health or disease management.

What are the challenges of the portal?

One major challenge with the portal is the multiple step registration process . Patients provide their e‐mail address at the front desk and are given a password to register from home. Some patients fail to complete the registration process after leaving the clinic. Remembering and managing passwords and managing family accounts are also challenging for patients. For example, a parent may log in for one child and then ask questions about a second child. For providers and staff, a challenge is that there is no way to know whether a Web‐enabled patient actually uses the portal and there are no read receipts to confirm that patients have read a message.

Why is it persuasive to use a portal?

They found that it is particularly persuasive when providers encourage patients to use the portal because patients trust providers and value their opinions. One provider says he reinforces a patient’s use of the portal by closing all messages with “Thanks for using the portal.”.

Why is PHMG monitoring?

Messaging is monitored periodically to ensure that communication with patients is succinct and user-friendly.

When did PHMG start patient portal?

PHMG launched the patient portal in early 2010. As a first step, the physician champion piloted the portal for about 6 months before it was implemented in one clinic at a time. According to the physician champion, implementation was “easier than expected because everyone was already comfortable with eClinicalWorks, ...

Why is Qualis important?

Qualis has also been an important resource for information about the meaningful use rules. "We felt strongly that from a quality standpoint we could not succeed without going to electronic health records. I felt very strongly we had to invest in it because it would positively affect every patient that we encounter.".

How can Physician Champions help with change?

Providers want to hear from other providers about new technologies. Physician champions can share practical how‐to information and address their colleagues’ questions and concerns from the physician perspective . Teaming physician and administrative champions can be an effective approach to introducing new technologies and processes.

What is a message in patients' own words?

Messages are in patients’ own words and not subject to others interpretation, biases, or attention to detail

Why are patient portals important?

Patient portals seem to offer great potential for higher quality care, but it is unknown whether providers who offer the portals will be able to capitalize on the Meaningful Use, stage 2 incentive due to lack of awareness of the patient portal service [24,25,27]. Measure seven of 17 states requires eligible professionals (EP) to “provide patients the ability to view online, download and transmit their health information within four business days of the information being available to the EP” [2]. In this review, there was insufficient data to associate the use of the patient portal with Meaningful Use.

How to improve patient portal?

To improve the association of use of the patient portal with Meaningful Use, hospital administrators should focus heavily on the incorporation of training in proper portal use for patients. Portal developers should conduct ease-of-use studies on their products. If the portal is not easy to navigate, it will not be used. Policy makers should consider the extension of Meaningful Use incentives in the area that affects patient portals. The market has been slow to adapt, and as a result, the maturity of the portal is not where it needs to be in order to improve quality of care and more deeply involve the patient in the medical decision.

What is the difference between a patient portal and a PHR?

The ownership of a patient portal distinguishes it from a personal health record (PHR); while the PHR is owned and managed by the patient, a patient portal is owned and managed by the health care organization. A main advantage of the patient portal is that the data are current, while the data in the PHR are current only when the patient updates it . Without a patient portal as an intermediary, the patient would not be able to access the data in the electronic health record (EHR).

How many papers were there in the Patient Portal study?

Ammenwerth, Schnell-Inderst, and Hoerbst conducted a systematic review on patient portals through a pilot study in 2011 [4]. The authors used medical subject headings (MeSH) terms to focus their research on studies that measured the impact of a patient portal on outcome criteria such as patient satisfaction with the provided care, patient empowerment, costs and resource consumption, mortality, or other relevant clinical parameters. The authors identified 603 papers, 13 of which were experimental or quasi-experimental. Of the 13 papers, five studies were deemed eligible and further analyzed, and four of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Sample sizes ranged from 6-81 participants. A significant flaw in their research was to include the PHR in their search, which, as mentioned above, is significantly different from a patient portal in terms of ownership and management. The features of the patient portal, such as disease management, SM, and the ability to view current personal medical information, are not only key distinguishing details between the patient portal and the PHR, but they also identify features that align with Meaningful Use criteria in Stage 2. Results of this study showed an association between portal use and the following: decrease in office visits rates and telephone contacts, increase in number of messages sent, changes of medication regimen, and better adherence to treatment. The authors summarized their results as a very small effect of patient portals on patient empowerment.

How many studies have been conducted on the patient portal?

We identified 26 studies and 1 review, and we summarized their findings and applicability to our research question. Very few studies associated use of the patient portal, or its features, to improved outcomes; 37% (10/27) of papers reported improvements in medication adherence, disease awareness, self-management of disease, a decrease of office visits, an increase in preventative medicine, and an increase in extended office visits, at the patient’s request for additional information. The results also show an increase in quality in terms of patient satisfaction and customer retention, but there are weak results on medical outcomes.

What is a patient portal?

The US government defines a patient portal as “a secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection” [5]. The data are managed by the health care organization, and even the most rudimentary portals enable patients to access information like recent doctor visits, discharge summaries, medications, immunizations, allergies, and lab results. More advanced portals enable patients to request prescription refills, schedule non-urgent appointments, and exchange secure messaging (SM) with their provider [5].

What is the purpose of systemic review?

The purpose of this systemic review is to outline and summarize study results on the effect of patient portals on quality, or chronic-condition outcomes as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and its implications to Meaningful Use since the beginning of 2011. This review updates and builds on the work by Ammenwerth, Schnell-Inderst, and Hoerbst.