how does a patient portal impact the industry

Patient portals promote more efficient bill pay According to Clain and Moseley’s data, patient portals improve revenue cycle management by allowing patients to pay their medical bills online. As a result, practices receive payment faster, in fuller amounts, and at a higher frequency.

Full Answer

How does patient portal implementation improve quality of patient care?

With the patients gaining direct access to healthcare data, they become better prepared to take their health and related concerns into their own hands. With secure messaging services that certain portals provide, patients get a much more satisfactory experience that ensures their loyalty to the portal provider and a particular healthcare facility.

What is a patient portal?

An integrated patient portal is a web-based access point that allows healthcare providers and patients to communicate and share health-related information remotely, supplementing the ongoing management of patient care. Patient portals are the key technology platforms that enable patient engagement. They can also be accessed through cloud services.

Why do providers Love Patient portals so much?

May 13, 2016 · May 13, 2016 - Patient portals are an online website that is connected to the EHR, centrally focused on patient access to health data. These tools give patients a look into various data points, including lab results, physician notes, their health histories, discharge summaries, and immunizations. While it is standard fare for patient portals to include much of that information, …

Do health information technology portals improve outcomes?

Mar 18, 2020 · More and more healthcare organizations have started their patient portals as the medical industry has moved focus toward patient-centered care. Organizations giving patients access to their medical records are at an all-time high. As a result, a growing number of patients are engaging up and actively utilizing these services.

What are the benefits and challenges of implementing a patient portal?

Why is patient portal important in healthcare?

What impact do health care portals have on patients and patient care?

What are the benefits of patient portals for providers?

How do patient portals improve patient outcomes?

How do you promote a patient portal?

How do patient portals contribute to patient centered care?

Are patient portals effective?

What should be in a patient portal?

What is the goal of hie?

What is the study period of this market?

The Global Patient Portal Market market is studied from 2018 - 2026. Read More

What is the growth rate of Global Patient Portal Market?

The Global Patient Portal Market is growing at a CAGR of 14.83% over the next 5 years. Read More

What is Global Patient Portal Market size in 2018?

The Global Patient Portal Market is valued at 2608 Million USD in 2018. Read More

What is Global Patient Portal Market size in 2026?

The Global Patient Portal Market is valued at 5980 Million USD in 2026. Read More

Which region has highest growth rate in Global Patient Portal Market?

Asia Pacific is growing at the highest CAGR over 2021- 2026. Read More

Which region has largest share in Global Patient Portal Market?

North America holds highest share in 2021. Read More

Who are the key players in Global Patient Portal Market?

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., McKesson Corporation, CureMD Healthcare, Athenahealth, Inc., Cerner Corporation are the major companies opera...

Why are patient portals important?

Research shows that when patients are able to see their own health data, they gain ownership of their own wellness and are better prepared to interact with their providers about their care.

Why do providers use patient portals?

This is mainly because providers are trying to build a relationship with their patients, not just bolster patient loyalty. For many providers, patient portal use is about building trust and enhancing care.

Why do we need portals?

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.

Why do portals like secure messaging make patients want to return to a certain provider?

Because portal features like secure messaging facilitate strong bonds between patients and providers, these tools make patients want to return to a certain provider.

Why do providers need to understand patient populations?

Providers must understand which patient populations are and are not likely to utilize the patient portal. By identifying populations with lower adoption rates, providers can target their engagement strategies to encourage portal adoption, helping them to deliver better care to their patients in the long-run.

What is a patient portal?

May 13, 2016 - Patient portals are an online website that is connected to the EHR, centrally focused on patient access to health data. These tools give patients a look into various data points, including lab results, physician notes, their health histories, discharge summaries, and immunizations.

Why do minority patients have lower portal adoption rates?

Research shows that minority ethnicities have lower rates of patient portal adoption, potentially due to lack of access to technology or lack of technology literacy.

Why is patient portal important?

With routine use, your practice should see higher patient engagement and fulfillment, and a more streamlined workflow that conserves time and effort for staff and physicians.

How does a patient portal help a practice?

When patients can check their health information through the portal, they can let the practice know about any missing or incorrect information in the medical records.

How do portals improve patient loyalty?

Portals can improve patient loyalty. The continuous relationship and communication that happens outside of appointments inspire patients to feel cared for and to remain loyal to your practice. Raise your value. Patients value straightforward access to information and direct interaction that happens with portal use.

Why do we need patient portals?

Some patient portals also enable patients to plan appointments and handle bills instantly through the system. For providers, they serve as an opportunity to improve patient engagement, increase loyalty, control costs and streamline workflows.

How can patients see their visit notes?

Patients can see their visit notes in the portal. Give patients their care plan details in the portal. Promote privacy to establish them up with their portal accounts so they can interact directly with their physicians. Portals can improve patient loyalty.

Why is it important to share patient data electronically?

The facility to quickly enter and share patient data electronically helps to reduce one of the main distractions, that doctors have during their workday. This allows you to focus more effectively on the patient and the care plan that you need to formulate for your patient.

How many hospitals provide medical records?

According to a paper from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), it was reported that over 90% of hospitals provide patients to obtain their medical records, with 72% of organizations providing patients full picture, download, and transfer capabilities. With that being told, for over half of these means, less than 25% of patients choose and use them.

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.

When did Dover Family Physicians adopt EHR?

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 implementation. The practice, located in Dover, Delaware, has four physicians and two physician assistants, and provides primary care to more than 800 patients weekly.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

How many articles were screened for systematic review?

We also wanted to relate the findings back to Meaningful Use criteria. Over 4000 articles were screened, and 27 were analyzed and summarized for this systematic review.

Why are patient portals important?

Patient portals have more tactical uses for improving patient loyalty. By enabling communications regarding health ailments, providers can call the patient back into the office if need be.

How does patient portal help?

According to Clain and Moseley’s data, patient portals improve revenue cycle management by allowing patients to pay their medical bills online. As a result, practices receive payment faster, in fuller amounts, and at a higher frequency. Online bill pay not only benefits practices financially, but helps improve patient satisfaction rates.

Why do providers need to implement patient engagement strategies?

As risk-based payment models such as accountable care organizations gain industry popularity, providers need to implement patient engagement strategies not only to deliver quality care, but to ensure that their revenue cycles can benefit from adopting these new techniques.

Why is online bill pay important?

Online bill pay not only benefits practices financially, but helps improve patient satisfaction rates. Research shows that patients prefer to pay their bills online rather than by check.

Does self scheduling help with patient loyalty?

Self-scheduling functions also play a considerable part in boosting patient loyalty rates. According to Moseley and Clain, patients tend to prefer online scheduling of appointments over phone scheduling. If a practice offers online scheduling, patients are more likely to stick with that practice than find another one.

Does the patient portal drive adoption?

The pair stated that effective use of the patient portal will drive adoption rates. According to some of Moseley’s research, providers with high portal adoption rates also have the highest portal engagement rates.

How does a portal help a patient?

Similarly, the portal’s ability to address requests for prescription refills off-hours reduced ED visits. Portals acted as buffers between a patient’s desire for 24-ho ur access and physicians’ desires for a work-life balance. And while ED visits and hospitalizations are one measure of wellness, it is not clear whether portals improve patient health; to the extent that the foster improved communication, they provide a benefit.

How much did patients with access to the portal increase their office visits?

Patients with access to the portal increased their office visits by 21% . This was true for both patients with multiple problems as well as diabetes by itself.

Why are portals important?

Portals acted as buffers between a patient’s desire for 24-hour access and physicians’ desires for a work-life balance. And while ED visits and hospitalizations are one measure of wellness, it is not clear whether portals improve patient health; to the extent that the foster improved communication, they provide a benefit. ...

Do Medicare portals have problems?

Portals are not free of problems. Only about 30% of Medicare beneficiaries use them despite nearly 90% of their physicians providing them. As with many healthcare disparities, age, income, and in this instance broadband access, limit portal use. And like other new technology, there is a schism between the designers’ intentions and what users found beneficial. For example, physicians have been slow to incorporate appointment scheduling in the system; and patients find having laboratory and imaging results, without the explanatory framework that a physician provides, may induce more anxiety than assurance.

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 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.

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.

What is mHealth communication?

Communication generally takes the form of secure messaging such as live chat or e-mail among patients and providers , including primary care and specialist physicians, pharmacists, and many others.

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.