elderly patient access to electronic patient portal

by Dr. Yadira Bednar 6 min read

Patient Portal Use and Experience Among Older Adults: …

4 hours ago  · A patient portal is often tethered to the EHR of the hospital and most portals offer the same set of basic functions to patients, such as a secure means to schedule appointments, view laboratory results, request medication prescriptions and send secure messages to a healthcare team. 2 –4 Older adults, aged 50 years and above, typically need healthcare … >> Go To The Portal


Are patient portals and electronic personal health records better for older adults?

Patient portals and electronic personal health records (ePHRs) are technologies that could better serve populations with the highest health care needs, such as older adults. Objective

How do patient portal users access their health information in 2020?

★ About one in five patient portal users (22%) accessed their health information using both a smartphone health app and a computer in 2020. ★ Patient portal users most commonly accessed their health information through a computer (83%) – six in 10 portal users accessed their health information using only this method.

Why do we need a portal to the health information portal?

As many health care systems offer their patients a portal to their health information, there are opportunities for it to be an integral part in keeping patients informed about their health information and encouraging them to take an active role in their health care.

Do people age 50 to 80 have an online health portal?

And adaptation varies by age, income and education level. Only about half of people age 50 to 80 have set up an account on a secure online access site, or “patient portal,” offered by their health care provider, according to new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging.

How do you get patients to use the portal?

Here are nine ways to improve patient portal engagement.Enroll at the first appointment. ... Auto-enroll to schedule online appointments. ... Include a link to the portal when patients sign in. ... Link your portal sign up on all correspondence. ... Optimize for desktop and mobile. ... Empower all staff to sign patients up. ... Offer incentives.More items...•

What is the difference between EHR and patient portal?

As EMRs have matured, many have offered Patient Portals – web-based ways in which patients can view some of the information contained in their physician's EMR. When a Patient Portal is added to an EMR, it is often then called an EHR. Patient Portals are populated by EMR data, and not updatable by the patient directly.

What is EMR patient portal?

A patient portal that is accessed through a secure login. It includes a Personal Health Record (PHR) and allows your practice and patients to exchange information securely and in full compliance with HIPAA. Having a patient portal is one of the many requirements for Meaningful Use.

Does patient portal have an app?

Patient portal apps typically allow patients to share their health records with providers, enabling them to gain a longitudinal view of their patient's health history. Like Epic's MyChart, some apps even allow patients to provide temporary access to their medical records via a code.

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

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 is the most popular patient portal?

Top 10 Patient Portal Software By EMRSystemsEpic EHR Software's MyChart.athenahealth EMR Software's athenaCommunicator.PrognoCIS EMR Software.Cerner Specialty Practice Management Software.eClinicalWorks EMR Software's Patient Portal and Healow App.Greenway PrimeSUITE EHR Software.NextGen Healthcare EHR Software.More items...•

What are the different types of patient portals?

There are two main types of patient portals: a standalone system and an integrated service. Integrated patient portal software functionality usually comes as a part of an EMR system, an EHR system or practice management software. But at their most basic, they're simply web-based tools.

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the Top Pros and Cons of Adopting Patient Portals?Pro: Better communication with chronically ill patients.Con: Healthcare data security concerns.Pro: More complete and accurate patient information.Con: Difficult patient buy-in.Pro: Increased patient ownership of their own care.

How do patients use EHR?

EHRs are a vital part of health IT and can: Contain a patient's medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory and test results. Allow access to evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions about a patient's care.

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 much does it cost to implement a patient portal?

A patient portal app for the health care sector usually costs $12,500 to build. However, the total cost can be as low as $5,000 or as high as $20,000.

What is Athena app?

Designed for doctors and healthcare providers, the athenaOne app is a secure, mobile extension of athenaNet clinical workflows designed to help athenaClinicals customers deliver better care. Simply log in with your athenaNet credentials to get started.

What are the primary objectives of EHR?

Objectives: Primary objective 1. To assess the effects of providing adult patients with access to electronic health records (EHRs) alone or with additional functionalities on a range of patient, patient-provider, and health resource consumption outcomes, including patient knowledge and understanding, patient empowerment, patient adherence, ...

Does medication adherence affect patient satisfaction?

Patient satisfaction with care: low-quality evidence from three studies suggests that the intervention may have little or no effect on patient satisfaction, with conflicting results.

Does patient empowerment have a low quality?

Patient empowerment: low-quality evidence from three studies suggest s that the intervention may have little or no effect on patient empowerment measures. Patient adherence: low-quality evidence from two studies suggests that the intervention may slightly improve adherence to the process of monitoring risk factors and preventive services.

How old are people who use portals?

Older adults are still struggling to use patient portals to engage with their healthcare providers, according to a survey conducted in March 2018 by the University of Michigan and AARP of 2,013 adults ages 50 to 80 years.

Do older adults prefer to communicate with healthcare providers?

The survey found that many older adults still prefer to communication with healthcare providers via phone and other traditional devices. Nearly half reported that communication by phone was a better way to explain their request, and 36% say that they get a quicker response via phone.

Electronic Patient Portals

Patient portals have become more accessible over the last decade. 10 Patients can arrange appointments, review diagnostic test results, request prescription refills, communicate with clinicians, and access their medical records.

Table of Contents

Patient portals have become more accessible over the last decade. 10 Patients can arrange appointments, review diagnostic test results, request prescription refills, communicate with clinicians, and access their medical records.

Growing availability, incomplete use

For the past several years, the federal government has required hospitals, health systems and other health care providers to offer patient portal options to their patients if they want to earn extra funding from Medicare.

Concerns and divides

The poll’s results highlight the concerns that might be keeping older adults from setting up and logging in to the patient portals available to them.

Summary

Individuals’ rates of being offered and subsequently accessing their patient portal increased significantly between 2018 and 2019, but did not change in 2020.

Data Source and Methods

Data are from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

Suggested Citation

Johnson C, Richwine C, & Patel V. (September 2021). Individuals’ Access and Use of Patient Portals and Smartphone Health Apps, 2020. ONC Data Brief, no.57. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: Washington DC.