health systems technology patient portal

What is a patient portal?

Feb 07, 2018 · Dover Family Physicians adopted an electronic health record (EHR) system in 2008 with a goal of improving the quality of patient care and especially strengthening preventive care services. The practice has focused on ways to use the EHR to engage patients and their family members in their health and healthcare through a patient portal ...

Do health information technology portals improve outcomes?

Dec 02, 2021 · With patient portals, the first and foremost thing you will need is a computer and a working internet connection. Create a customized user’s account in the software to avail medical services on your own. Once you enter the patient portal, click on links and products sold by the provider and tap into a new experience.

How does patient portal implementation improve quality of patient care?

May 13, 2022 · What is patient portal software? Patient portal software is a versatile solution that provides users with a secure access to medical records and services. It boosts patient engagement by facilitating tasks such as scheduling appointments, requesting prescription refills, and making online bill payments.

Are patient portals HIPAA compliant?

of transforming the workers’ compensation pharmacy and ancillary benefits management experience. Powered by state-of-the-art technology. Supported by human-centered service. Informed by industry expertise. Inspired by a commitment to care.

What is portal technology in healthcare?

Who has the best patient portal?

What information can be accessed through a patient portal?

What is patient portal software?

What is the difference between EMR and EHR?

How do you set up a patient portal system?

What information is excluded from a patient portal?

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

What is the difference between a personal health record and a patient portal?

What are the different types of patient portals?

What is a standalone patient portal?

Why is patient portal important in healthcare?

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal can be defined simply as a “secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection.”

Why is patient portal important?

In a world where consumers want access to everything online, a patient portal is fast becoming a necessity. Physicians who implement one stand to benefit in several ways, including reduced no-shows, shorter collection times, more engaged patients, and ultimately better care outcomes.

What are the advantages of EHR?

There are many advantages to selecting an EHR with pre-integrated peripherals such as a patient portal or practice management system. These include increased efficiency and less need for costly custom development to build a bridge between systems. However, there can be drawbacks. Many all-in-one systems lack non-incentivized, but no less important, features like online bill pay, online patient registration, and patient scheduling.

Why are electronic health records being attrition?

Many electronic health records and patient portal software vendors are suffering attrition due to failures to certify their products for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. This is leading to general consolidation in the healthcare IT market. Currently, the top few vendors control approximately 75 percent of the marketplace, and that trend is expected to continue.

Do patient portals have to have a password?

In order to comply with HIPAA regulations, all patient portal vendors must provide restricted access to protected health information using a secure username and password for each user.

Can third party providers integrate with EHRs?

While third-party patient portal vendors are incentivized to create bridges that will allow their systems to integrate with a wide variety of EHRs, it can be difficult to build a bridge for a system whose vendor refuses to cooperate. This can limit both users’ choice and efficient care coordination. If your practice uses one of these systems, your patient portal options may be limited.

What are the benefits of patient portal?

Reaction to the patient portal implementation has been very positive. Patients appreciate the convenience, for example, of being able to contact the practice at any time of day or night . For many patients, the use of Web-based information and electronic communication is “second nature”; consequently, they are comfortable using the portal. As one clinician observed, “Lots of patients are accustomed to using electronic communication now. They don’t want to have to pick up the phone anymore.” Clinicians and staff members appreciate that the portal reduces call volume and “provides a fluid line of communication that works well.” They noted that communication via the portal helped to reduce miscommunication and delays that sometimes occur with phone communication.

Why are patients interested in portals?

Patients may be especially interested in the portal at particular moments, such as when they are frustrated with telephone wait times or playing “telephone tag.” Staff members take these opportunities to encourage patients to use the portal.

What are the limitations of EHR?

The limitations of the EHR and the patient portal have presented challenges, such as the inability to send clinical summaries to patients via the portal. The practice can only move ahead with certain aspects of patient and family engagement as quickly as the system is upgraded.

How to get the most value from an EHR?

To get the most value from an EHR, practices will need to invest time in training and preparation. Some customization of the system will likely be needed based on how the practice functions and the individual work styles of the various providers.

Do patients need to be educated about clinical summaries?

The providers noted that patients need to be educated about clinical summaries, otherwise “many clinical summaries are likely to end up in the trash.” Consequently, providers explain the contents, purpose, and benefits of the clinical summary to patients.

Overview

Patient portals improve the way in which patients and health care providers interact. A product of meaningful use requirements, they were mandated as a way to provide patients with timely access to their health care. Specifically, patient portals give patients access to their health information to take a more active role.

Primary Benefits

No matter 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 that it does so while providing several benefits for health care providers as well. Some of these benefits include:

Notable Challenges

While many people have used a patient portal by now, they have mixed reviews at best. As you can see in the section above, there are plenty of benefits that patient portals provide. But unfortunately, their potential has yet to be fully harnessed.

Emerging Trends

If patient portals are a mixed bag, why should the patient portal receive greater consideration in the EHR, EMR and practice management selection processes? Because when you look at current industry trends, patient portals are well on their way to improving. Some of these trends include:

How to Use a Patient Portal

With patient portals, the first and foremost thing you will need is a computer and a working internet connection. Create a customized user’s account in the software to avail medical services on your own. Once you enter the patient portal, click on links and products sold by the provider and tap into a new experience.

Solution Evaluation

Now that you know what a patient portal is and given the potential and growing importance, how should you evaluate the best portal for your practice or facility? You can select a standalone patient portal that a third-party vendor commonly hosts through the cloud as a health care provider.

Final Thoughts

It’s clear that using a patient portal software can provide several benefits for your medical practice. After accounting for these nine considerations, you should be ready to start using a patient portal. The only decision left to make is which platform you’ll use.

What is Carepaths EHR?

CarePaths EHR is an online (ASP), integrated electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management (PM) system. It is designed for psychiatry, psychology, mental and behavioral health, and social services. Some of the CarePaths'... Read more

What is my client plus?

My Clients Plus is a cloud-based medical platform. It is used by mental and behavioral health providers for medical practice management. My Clients Plus’ key features comprise therapy billing, client portal, to-do list, thera... Read more

What is elation health?

Elation Health is a cloud-based clinically focused electronic health record solution for physicians looking for an ONC-ATCB certified EMR along with patient scheduling, a patient portal, e-prescribing and e-faxing. The solution ca... Read more

When was Health System Technologies founded?

Since inception in 1997 Health System Technologies single focus has been the provision, implementation, enhancement and support of Health Information Solutions, our track record reflects the viability and sustainability of our solutions deployed.

What is patient management?

Patient management is provided within the emergency, in- and outpatient settings and is subject to an ongoing continuous improvement program, which aims to deliver optimal efficiency in daily hospital operations.

What is HST in healthcare?

As a leading provider of optimised and integrated ICT solutions and services to healthcare enterprises, including the Western Cape Provincial Health Department and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), HST partners with leading local and international suppliers to deliver customised solutions that set a new benchmark in patient care.

What is HST in medical?

HST is an official distributor for Enterprise Imaging (RIS/PACS) for Radiology, an AGFA HealthCare product. In the largest deployment of its kind in the world, HST successfully completed an LIS project with the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in 2015.

How many ICT sites does HST have?

Since 1999, Health System Technologies (HST) has implemented and supported over 388 ICT solutions sites for healthcare enterprises in Africa - solutions that deliver the right data at the right time, ensuring optimal results.

Introduction

Patient Portal Software Features

Types of Patient Portals

• Integrated Patient Portal Software
  The proliferation of healthcare IT vendors means that providers have numerous medical software options. Most of the systems developed are, due to incentives, EHRs, but many of these systems include an integrated patient portal. There are many advantages to selecting an EHR with pre-int…
• Standalone Patient Portals
  Provider frustration with many pre-integrated, non-user friendly systems has led to the development of standalone patient portals. Standalone systems usually include more features and do not rely on sunk costs to keep their contracts. Additionally, third-party vendors are often …

See more on technologyadvice.com

Current Trends

Conclusion