how to get patients to sign up for patient portal

by Prof. Alia Hill IV 4 min read

How To Get Patients To Sign Up For Patient Portals: 9 Tips

18 hours ago Jun 12, 2020 · Everyone on your team should be involved in promoting your patient portal, from the front desk check-in receptionists to medical assistants, nurses, and providers. Create a … >> Go To The Portal


Tips For Getting Patients To Sign Up For A Patient Portal.

  • Enroll at the first appointment. If you get a new patient, it’s important that you get them to sign up for your patient portal. Ideally, getting them ...
  • Enroll for scheduling online appointments. Online appointments are a huge value add for many patients, as it makes scheduling appointments much easier.
  • Provide registration to the portal when patients come in. Many patients don’t register for the portal because it slips their mind. Having them ...
  • Link your portal sign up on all correspondence. If you send an email, make sure to include a footer or signature that prompts them to sign up for the ...

The most effective time to persuade patients to try the portal is while they're in your office. The physician's encouragement is typically the most influential, but patients should also hear about the portal at check-in, during rooming, and at checkout, so engage the rest of your team in promoting it.Apr 4, 2019

Full Answer

How to get your patients to use your patient portal?

With a patient portal, you can:

  • Make appointments (non-urgent)
  • Request referrals
  • Refill prescriptions
  • Check benefits
  • Update insurance or contact information
  • Make payments to your provider's office
  • Complete forms
  • Ask questions through secure e-mail

How do you set up a patient portal?

With My Seton Health, you have access to:

  • A Summary of treatment during your hospital stay
  • A list of active medications
  • Your hospital discharge instructions
  • Lab and vital sign results

How to access your patient portal?

When you register on the TOL Patient Portal, you can:

  • Review and download personal health information
  • Schedule, change, view, or cancel appointments at your military hospital or clinic
  • Receive secure email and text message appointment reminders
  • Refill and check status of your prescriptions at your military hospital or clinic
  • Get information and services when separating from active duty or reserves

More items...

How to create an account in our patient portal?

email and create an account on Sadio, the patient portal. Once the link has been opened, the email address will be verified. 2) The system will prompt you to create a username, password, and enter your date of birth.

How do you encourage 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...•

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.

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 is the point 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.

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 the top barriers to patient portal adoption use?

Burying lab results or not offering access to clinician notes will likely keep patients from seeing the utility of the portal. Even if providers offer this health data, making it difficult for patients to navigate to it will reduce the utility in the technology.

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.

Is patient portal an app?

The PatientPORTAL App connects you, the patient, with your healthcare provider. The App enables you to view upcoming appointments and lab results, as well as send and receive secure messages for yourself and any dependents that you may have for easy communication with your provider.

When did patient portals start?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the earliest adopters of patient portals began offering electronic tools for patient-centered communication, often “tethered” to their integrated electronic health record system.

Do patients like patient portals?

Eight studies reported that patients or their caregivers want more portal education, training, or support. Two studies found that their participants want human connection as they learn about the portal and how to use it, as well as when they encounter issues.

Are patient portals effective?

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.

What is the nurse's role in implementation of patient portals in healthcare?

Nurses see the portal as an additional service for patients, because it offers them the possibility for asking questions at any time and place suitable for the patient. Some nurses experience an increase in work load, because patients ask more non-urgent questions that otherwise would not be asked.

Why is it important to sign up for patient portal?

Ideally, getting them to sign up before their appointment even starts can help improve engagement.

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals are a hugely useful service that all practices, big or small, should provide. Get the team involved with patient enrollment. Consider the reasons why patients sign up to patient portals, and make the benefits known.

Why don't patients register for the portal?

Many patients don’t register for the portal because it slips their mind. Having them register for the portal upon walking in allows this process to be done seamlessly within the regular intake flow.

Why don't patients sign up for a med?

Many patients don’t sign up because they don’t know what’s in it for them. Letting them know that it could save them money and time by giving them instant access to medical records, lab results, and communication with a healthcare professional may incentivize them to sign up.

Can a patient portal be accessed on a mobile phone?

Most Internet traffic nowadays comes from mobile phones. Making sure that your patient portal can be easily accessed on one’s phone is an important part of making it easy to use.

Why can't patients use patient portal?

As we’ve discussed above, your patients may not use your patient portal because they are either unaware that it exists or they don’t understand the benefits. Informative marketing materials can help to get the word out about your patient portal and how patients can benefit from it.

Why are patients resistant to using the patient portal?

Sometimes, patients are resistant to use your patient portal because they don’t understand the benefits. Some just think the patient portal is just an extra thing they need to manage. You need to be able to convey to your patients that the portal can actually make things easier for them.

What are the features of an EHR?

There are certain features you are required to have, like secure messaging, patient records, and the ability to submit prescription refills. However, it helps to get an idea of what features are most important to your patients before you choose your EHR system. For example, if you have a lot of patients who access the internet on mobile devices ...

Why do patients disregard portal invitations?

If your patients receive an invitation to join the portal, but they haven’t been to your office recently and don’t have an upcoming appointment, they might just disregard the invitation because it isn’t relevant to them.

Is it too late to change EHR?

If your EHR system’s patient portal is confusing or difficult to use, you will probably have a hard time getting your patients to use it. If you’ve already committed to an EHR system, it may be too late to change. However, if you haven’t chosen an EHR yet, try to test out different types to see what is the easiest to use before you commit to one. 2.

Is patient portal user friendly?

Even if your patient portal is very user-friendly, it is probably very new for your patients, and everyone will have different levels of understanding. It is important to be able to walk patients through the process of using the system.

Why is patient portal important?

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.

Can you schedule an appointment online?

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.

Is patient portal a project?

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.

What is mandatory signup?

Mandatory signup fields can be enabled in Portal settings. The General Practitioner fields are type-to-search. If the doctor does not already exist in the system, a new contact will be created, otherwise the correct practitioner will be assigned in the patient profile.

Do email addresses match patient profiles?

The email address must match the email provided in their patient profile. After the patient has filled out their email address and passwords they will need to confirm the information through the email address provided and then will be able to login to the patient portal.

How to access a patient portal?

With a patient portal: 1 You can access your secure personal health information and be in touch with your provider's office 24 hours a day. You do not need to wait for office hours or returned phone calls to have basic issues resolved. 2 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. This can lead to better care and better management of your medicines. 3 E-mail reminders and alerts help you to remember things like annual checkups and flu shots.

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

Expand Section. With a patient portal: You can access your secure personal health information and be in touch with your provider's office 24 hours a day . You do not need to wait for office hours or returned phone calls to have basic issues resolved. You can access all of your personal health information from all ...

How much does an e-visit cost?

For minor issues, such as a small wound or rash, you can get diagnosis and treatment options online. This saves you a trip to the provider's office. E-visits cost around $30.