28 hours ago Mar 21, 2022 · Given the central role of PCMH in many health care systems, including the VHA, PCMH settings may be an ideal place to reach patients and increase enrollment in patient portals. Understanding the potential of the PCMH setting to enroll patients in a patient portal requires an in-depth understanding of influential contextual factors . >> Go To The Portal
Medical groups, hospitals and health systems should use the following methods for encouraging enrollment in patient portals:
Mar 21, 2022 · Given the central role of PCMH in many health care systems, including the VHA, PCMH settings may be an ideal place to reach patients and increase enrollment in patient portals. Understanding the potential of the PCMH setting to enroll patients in a patient portal requires an in-depth understanding of influential contextual factors .
May 06, 2020 · In 2016, Cedars-Sinai wanted to increase MyChart patient portal enrollment so that patients had greater access to their data and could verify their information and fill out their health histories online before arriving at a clinic or hospital.
patient portal before expanding. • Team-Focused − Include patients on the rollout team. − Allow several months to assess how to integrate the portal. − Gather patient and provider feedback to plan expanded implementation. • Efficiency-Driven − Make enrollment open to all patients. − Have staff manage portal workflow and
Aug 19, 2019 · Here are nine ways to improve patient portal engagement. 1. Enroll at the first appointment You have worked hard to get new patients through your doors. Set the expectation of patient portal engagement from the very first appointment by making portal enrollment part of your intake procedure.
How to get patients to sign up for a patient portalEnroll 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...•Aug 12, 2019
Provide print materials in the office. • Leave portal pamphlets in the exam room for patients to read while they wait to see the physician. ... Promote the portal online. • ... Prepare your office and staff. • ... Adapt existing office workflows. • ... Equip your staff with talking points. • ... Offer incentives to patients and staff. •
In order to help you evaluate common portal capabilities, we asked patients which portal features they would need the most: Scheduling appointments online. Viewing health information (e.g., lab results or clinical notes) Viewing bills/making payments.Jul 24, 2019
3.1 Ensure portal access for all patientsOffer your patient portal in multiple languages.Make sure your portal is mobile-friendly, and that the pages load quickly, so that users with limited data or slow connections can still access it.More items...•Apr 17, 2019
Background. 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.
Further, portals help providers educate their patients and prepare them for future care encounters. When patients have access to their health data, they are better informed, and have the potential to generate deep and meaningful conversations regarding patient wellness during doctor's appointments.May 13, 2016
A robust patient portal should include the following features:Clinical summaries.Secure (HIPAA-compliant) messaging.Online bill pay.New patient registration.Ability to update demographic information.Prescription renewals and contact lens ordering.Appointment requests.Appointment reminders.More items...
Meet Meaningful Use Requirements The portal must be engaging and user- friendly, and must support patient-centered outcomes. The portal also must be integrated into clinical encounters so the care team uses it to convey information, communicate with patients, and support self-care and decision-making as indicated.
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.Feb 17, 2016
The purpose of HIE is to promote the appropriate and secure access and retrieval of a patient's health information to improve the cost, quality, safety and speed of patient care.
The reason why most patients do not want to use their patient portal is because they see no value in it, they are just not interested. The portals do not properly incentivize the patient either intellectually (providing enough data to prove useful) or financially.
Just as healthcare systems and physicians are more likely to adopt the EHR when trained and educated , patients may also be more likely to activate and use portals with instruction and educational resources.
Patients can privately message physicians through the portal, ask questions, and improve access to their medical data. And portals provide them with tools to help them remain actively engaged in their care.
One of the possible reasons patients do not register for a patient portal is that they might be unaware of its existence. Fix this by using a sign-up connection with any piece of communication you deliver, whether by brochures, mail, or email. Put a connection in everyone's signature for email communications, and get the URL printed on reminder cards and letterheads.
You need to set patient portal enrollment as a standard in your practice from their first appointment. Encourage them that it will make future processes, like prescription refills and appointment scheduling more convenient.
Your patients may prefer to schedule their appointments online for convenience. Program your online appointment booking system to automatically enroll them in your patient portal. Make sure to highlight the benefits like appointment reminders (via text or email) and online payment options.
Patient portal engagement is a challenge, especially among low-income people, but optimizing for mobile will help level the playing field. Patient portals that are designed for smartphones will further improve patient use of the portal since over 81 percent of people in the United States now own a smartphone.
You can also add portal enrollment steps to paperwork, such as after-visit summaries. Make the instructions actionable and easy for patients to understand — choose clear, direct language and use illustrations, bullets, and numbering where possible . Encourage them to take immediate action.
To facilitate enrollment, automatically enroll your patients in a portal account, instead of waiting for patients to sign up themselves. Keep enrollment numbers up by encouraging new patients to stay registered and offering tips for patients with limited computer access or skills.
Working closely with its partners, Inova Health revised the after-visit summary (AVS) to make the benefits of EHRs salient, highlight clear action steps, and encourage immediate action. Analysis suggests that the revised instructions led to a 10% increase in the probability of online patient portal activation.
Patients report not enrolling because they: Don’t remember discussing it with their clinicians. Lack information or motivation — for example, they don’t have signup instructions or they feel too busy.
For example, encourage patients to use the portal to make follow-up appointments, stay on top of recommended screenings, or request refills. Some portals even enable clinicians to create task lists for patients that include activities related to taking medications, eating a healthy diet, and staying physically active.
Receptionists can suggest patients use the portal to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, and ask questions. Automated follow-up emails after an appointment — as well as bills and receipts — can include a link and remind people to sign up.
Let’s face it: the best way to boost patient portal engagement is to offer useful and engaging content. Use patient demographics and other information such as national health months (e.g., heart disease, breast cancer, etc.) to generate content that empowers and educates patients. Make sure patients understand that lab results and visit summaries will be delivered via the patient portal as well.
One of the main reasons patients don’t sign up for a patient portal is that they truly don’t know it exists. Fix that by adding the link to sign up on every bit of correspondence you send, whether through the physical mail or email.
Other benefits of patient portals include: 1 Better adherence to treatment plans 2 Fewer visits to the doctor for minor issues 3 Increased patient focus on preventative care 4 Easier recordkeeping and safe storage of medical records
If you have automated sign in for patients when they arrive for an appointment, provide a link on the sign in sheet so they can easily register while they wait.
Patient portals can be great tools for engaging your patients, and can even help save you time when patients use secure messaging. Still, getting your practice’s patient portal set-up and actually getting patients to use it are two entirely different challenges.
If a patient calls in to schedule an appointment, have the receptionist explain that next time they can schedule an appointment online, and even receive appointment reminders by email. When patients are checking out, make sure staff say they’ll be able to pay their bills online.
Adopting a patient portal is a huge project, and it’s likely to need some tweaking and updating after your first launch. If you add a new feature (like, say appointment scheduling) or update the layout to make it more user-friendly, make sure you advertise these changes to your patients. A patient who initially logged on and was frustrated by bugs or a difficult layout might be encouraged by news of an updated design.
Editor’s note: This is an early release of a web exclusive article for the January 2022 issue of American Nurse Journal.
Several factors—age, race, ethnicity, education, health status, and health literacy—influence portal benefits. A review by Irizarry and colleagues found that non-white patients and those with fewer years of formal education are less likely to register for patient portals than the less vulnerable populations would.
Portals and the devices to access them continue to evolve. Devices available remotely monitor vital signs, glucose levels, and heart rates, which contribute to the integration of human connection and technology.
Nurses occupy the frontline of patient communication. They play a critical role in encouraging patients to use portals by explaining the benefits, demonstrating their use, and providing reliable information about their security. Easy-to-use portals empower patients to access their personal health data and participate fully in their care.
The more patients understand the value of a patient engagement solution, the more likely they will embrace it. If they receive instructions—simple and straightforward—they’ll see the benefits. Equal to patient education is getting providers and staff familiar with the benefits and share them with their patients.
Being prepared to answer patients’ questions is the beginning of a successful patient portal marketing campaign. Share these answers to basic questions with your patients via email, text, or website.
Education and encouragement will increase enrollment in your patient portal. Ease of use and English and Spanish language options will also attract patients. To maintain the urgency to enroll, set up a game, contest, or drawing with prizes to encourage patients to use the portal.
Giving patients the tools to manage their care frees staff time and helps reduce administrative tasks. Most of all, you can continue to nurture the component that keeps your practice going forward—the relationship between providers and patients.
Influence. Providers and care teams have one of the most important roles in promoting portal adoption. Facilities where providers inform and encourage patients to use the portal have a much higher engagement rate than those who do not.
You can assess which portal features have the most value by going straight to the source: your patients. Ask them about the features they want or find useful, and tailor your portal to meet their needs.
Technology has changed how patients monitor their own health. One in five people use technology to track their health from fitness monitors to home medical devices. Using patient-generated health data has big advantages. Studies show it:
Make the message to enroll and use the portal highly visible in your practice by:
Internal buy-in is just as important as your external marketing strategies. Once your staff is sold on the benefits of the portal, they will enthusiastically encourage patients to sign up. Some tips to facilitate staff buy-in include: