how to get patients to use the patient portal more

How do you set up a patient portal?

Successful patient portal adoption will occur only if both groups adopt and embrace the technology. To that end, patients need a compelling reason to visit the portal, while physicians and practice staff need a compelling reason to integrate portals into their work. Successful patient adoption is directly tied to successful provider adoption.

What can I do on the patient portal?

To help patients use your patient portal, here’s a few tips and strategies we’ve used with clients to get patients engaged and signed up. Understand Behavior and Demographics. For patients with chronic conditions, promote the fact the portal offers: Lab results; Vitals tracking; Care plans; Communication with a coach or provider; For healthy patients, promote the fact the portal offers:

What are the advantages of patient portal?

Jan 16, 2015 · Have providers drive the medical responses to questions via the patient portal on a timely basis. Providers should promote the portal as the preferred way of sending information to patients. 3) Have a portal with patient friendly features. Allow patients to request prescription refills, pay bills, and schedule appointments online.

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

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 do I increase patient portal adoption?

How to Improve Patient Portal Adoption, Registration RatesConduct patient outreach, education.Considering hard-to-reach populations.Using the patient portal in public health efforts.Jan 27, 2021

How can patient compliance with portal registration be increased?

Hang posters in the office that promote the portal and include a QR code at the bottom, so patients can quickly navigate to the portal on their smartphones. Place printed portal instructions in your waiting room for patients to browse, which can prompt them to register while waiting.

How can we improve patient registration process?

Here are some steps you can take to assess and improve your workflow.Assess your practice's waiting room. ... Review your existing digital capabilities. ... Reflect on your patient registration workflow. ... Identify hang-ups in the patient registration process. ... Train staff on patient registration best practices.More items...•Jun 9, 2021

How do you optimize patient portals for patient engagement and meet meaningful use requirements?

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.

Why do some patients fail to participate in the use of the patient portal?

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.

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.Feb 17, 2016

What is the relationship between accurate patient registration?

Accuracy can speed the revenue cycle through fewer denials and rejected claims, as well as fewer returned statements. Accurate billing starts with accurate information, making patient registration vital to the overall success of the claims process.

What are the most common errors when submitting claims?

Missing or Incorrect Information Errors or omissions are a common cause of claim denials and can be easily prevented by double-checking all fields before submitting a claim. Incorrect or missing patient names, addresses, birth dates, insurance information, sex, dates of treatment and onset can all cause problems.May 11, 2017

Why is accurate patient registration important?

Accurate registration helps keep patient data complete and clean as it moves throughout the organization. ... Patient information spread across multiple records can distort measures of patient severity and overall risk of mortality. And correcting errors consumes time.

What is the meaningful use program?

'Meaningful Use' is the general term for the Center of Medicare and Medicaid's (CMS's) electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs that provide financial benefits to healthcare providers who use appropriate EHR technologies in meaningful ways; ways that benefit patients and providers alike.

What is patient portal used for?

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.Sep 29, 2017

What is the National Learning Consortium?

The National Learning Consortium (NLC) is a virtual and evolving body of knowledge and resources designed to support healthcare providers and health IT professionals working towards the implementation, adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR systems.Apr 30, 2013

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.

What is the challenge of stage 2?

While stage 2 has 20 core objectives, arguably the most challenging ones are: 1) 50% of your patients must be able to access their health information online in a timely manner, and 2) more than 5% of patients must actually engage providers’ patient portals. Not only do your patients need to be enrolled in your patient portal, ...

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.

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.

What are the benefits of patient portals?

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

Why don't patients sign up for patient portal?

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.

How to boost patient portal engagement?

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.

Actively promote portal usage by both staff and patients

One of the biggest reasons why patients do not engage with EHR patient portals is because they are simply ignorant of the fact they either exist or that they can be of use to them. Many feel like the portals are just there to make their life more complex and so will shy away from using them.

Implement a user-friendly and interactive patient portal

This is a design issue that you will have to be observant about. Many people shy away from portals (or websites in general) that seem intimidating and hard to understand.

Provide simplified educational and training materials

This can be as simple as a pamphlet that patients are handled when they come in. Such pamphlets can act as both a promotional and educational avenue as the pamphlet can offer information on why using the portal is essential as well as a step-by step guide on how to use the portal.

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.