importance of touch in patient portal

by Prof. Michel Corwin Jr. 3 min read

The Importance of Patient Portals During COVID-19 - …

21 hours ago Dec 02, 2011 · The caring power of touch allows a health care provider to not only assess a patient, but shows without words the gentle nature of how much you want to attend to their needs. In the digital age that we’re living in, automated patient care will surely make for a more impersonal level of medical assisting. >> Go To The Portal


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.

Full Answer

What are the benefits of patient portals?

Dec 02, 2011 · The caring power of touch allows a health care provider to not only assess a patient, but shows without words the gentle nature of how much you want to attend to their needs. In the digital age that we’re living in, automated patient care will surely make for a more impersonal level of medical assisting.

How do I use the intouch® patient portal?

Jan 15, 2019 · Patient education should also touch on the importance of portal engagement and the security provisions in place to keep patient data safe. Ideally, driving better patient education about the portal will help patients become more familiar with the tool, increase use and adoption, and improve patient health literacy.

Are patient portal users able to interpret lab results accurately?

Feb 10, 2015 · Results. 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 …

Do patients and caregivers use portals to communicate with healthcare staff?

Sep 07, 2020 · In this article, we’re going to discuss the real benefits of patient portals and why they’ve become so important. Benefits of Patient Portals Access To Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Saves Patients & Staff Time. A patient with access to their patient portal can access their medical records at any time via the Internet. No more having to wait in line at the doctor’s …

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Why is touch important in healthcare?

Touch can be used to bridge the emotional and physical gap between a physician and patient. It can directly express care, compassion, and comfort.

What makes a good patient portal?

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

How do you improve patient portal?

Here are some ways to encourage patient enrollment:Include information about the patient portal on your organization's website.Provide patients with an enrollment link before the initial visit to create a new account.Encourage team members to mention the patient portal when patients call to schedule appointments.More items...•Jun 25, 2020

What safeguards are in place for patient portals?

Patient portals have privacy and security safeguards in place to protect your health information. To make sure that your private health information is safe from unauthorized access, patient portals are hosted on a secure connection and accessed via an encrypted, password-protected logon.

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the benefits of patient portals?Patient portals are efficient. ... Patient portals improve communication. ... They store health information in one place. ... Patient portals satisfy meaningful use standards. ... They improve data accuracy. ... Patient portals make refilling prescriptions easy. ... They're available whenever you need them.More items...•Jul 15, 2019

What are the five main features of the new healthcare portal?

5 Key Features Every Patient Portal Needs to OfferExcellent user experience. ... Branding flexibility. ... Flexible financing options. ... Loyalty rewards and incentives. ... Integration with existing systems.May 12, 2020

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.

How is patient portal success measured?

To be successful, they should be assessed using measures that span across improvements in patient and family engagement (e.g., overall use and satisfaction with use and care), clinical outcomes, and operational efficiency.

What is meaningful use?

'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 are the advantages of patient portals to the patient and to the healthcare facility quizlet?

The patient portal supports two-way communication, which allows the patient to work with physicians between patient visits, request appointments, and receive reminders. These reminders can be for appointments, need for follow-up, and more.

What safeguards are included in patient portals a PHR is to help patients and healthcare professionals ensure safety?

Here we look at what features are required for patient portal security, and the protection and confidentiality of collected health information.Encrypted database features. ... Provide Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). ... Extensive password protection and MFA (multi-factor authentication). ... Audit Trails. ... Consent.More items...•Jun 3, 2020

What is a patient portal How will the patient portal enhance the quality of care?

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.

How do patient portals improve patient engagement?

Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the benefits of patient portals?Patient portals are efficient. ... Patient portals improve communication. ... They store health information in one place. ... Patient portals satisfy meaningful use standards. ... They improve data accuracy. ... Patient portals make refilling prescriptions easy. ... They're available whenever you need them.More items...•Jul 15, 2019

How is patient portal success measured?

To be successful, they should be assessed using measures that span across improvements in patient and family engagement (e.g., overall use and satisfaction with use and care), clinical outcomes, and operational efficiency.

How do you encourage patient portal?

The following strategies will help you engage your patients to use the portal.Mass enrollment. ... Get the whole office involved. ... Use every patient handout or marketing collateral as an opportunity to promote the patient portal. ... Market the benefits, not the features. ... Older patients may surprise you.More items...•May 28, 2019

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.

What are benefits of patient portals?

The truth is, there are a lot of benefits to using a patient portal for providers.Better Patient Communication. ... Streamline Patient Registration and Administrative Tasks. ... Greater Focus on Patient Care. ... Better Patient-Physician Relationships. ... Improve Clinical Outcomes. ... Optimize Medical Office Workflow.Dec 8, 2017

What are the advantages of patient portals to the patient and to the healthcare facility quizlet?

The patient portal supports two-way communication, which allows the patient to work with physicians between patient visits, request appointments, and receive reminders. These reminders can be for appointments, need for follow-up, and more.

What is the goal of hie?

Electronic health information exchange (HIE) allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other health care providers and patients to appropriately access and securely share a patient's vital medical information electronically—improving the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care.Jul 24, 2020

What is patient experience?

Patient experience is a multifaceted part of your office’s perception. It’s a culmination of everything your patient feels and notices about your practice, from your online ratings, your website, your front desk staff, and even how you’re dressed. So it’s important that doctors, practice managers, and auxiliary staff alike understand the essential touchpoints of patient experience.

What does bedside manner impact?

In fact, some research suggests that bedside manner impacts a patient’s experience even more so than your medical skills.

Why is touch important?

According to researchers, people are able to more accurately discern a wider range of feelings and emotion from touch than from gestures, expressions, and sometimes even words. That’s because touch is the first language we learn. Tiffany Field, PhD of the Touch Research Institute in Miami has found that benefits of touch seem to stem largely from its ability to reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone manufactured by the body.

Who is Abraham Verghese?

Abraham Verghese, a Stanford Physician and Professor , at the 2011 Med2.0 Conference, described the power of touch associated with the physical exam. In the following scenario he describes an interaction with a chronic fatigue patient who came to him after being seen by many other physicians.

Does touch reduce cortisol?

Tiffany Field, PhD of the Touch Research Institute in Miami has found that benefits of touch seem to stem largely from its ability to reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone manufactured by the body.

How many patients use patient portals?

Currently, just about 50 percent of patients actually use their patient portals, meaning only about half of patients are even viewing their own medical information. A 2018 study from the University of Michigan found that patient education and provider testimony may motivate more patients to access the patient portal.

Why is biometrics important?

However, medical experts across the country have likewise noted that basic knowledge of one’s biometric data is key for making informed healthcare decisions and meaningfully engaging in the healthcare system. Patients’ limited knowledge about their own health information is likely due to their inability to access their own health data.

How many people know their blood type?

The survey of about 1,000 adult patients found that only 57 percent know their own blood type. Only 38 percent know their cholesterol levels, while 33 percent know their blood sugar levels. Racial disparities also emerged when looking at self-knowledge about key biometric data.

Access To Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Saves Patients & Staff Time

A patient with access to their patient portal can access their medical records at any time via the Internet. No more having to wait in line at the doctor’s office just for some paperwork.

Educational Content Makes It Easy For Patients To Engage

Patient engagement is a huge buzzword in healthcare organizations, but it has real implications. Engaged patients have better health outcomes, are more satisfied with their care, and are more likely to return to the organization in the future.

Patient Portals Can Be Used To Schedule Appointments

A big part of staff time is spent on scheduling and verifying appointments. If a patient is able to do that themselves with automatic scheduling software, then that’s one less thing that your staff has to worry about.

Patient Portals Can Integrate With CRM Software

Your CRM, if set up correctly, can act as a single source of truth about your organization. It can include information about patient outreach campaigns and their conversion rates. Your CRM can also be a place where all patient information is securely stored and accessed.

What are the challenges of the portal?

One major challenge with the portal is the multiple step registration process . Patients provide their e‐mail address at the front desk and are given a password to register from home. Some patients fail to complete the registration process after leaving the clinic. Remembering and managing passwords and managing family accounts are also challenging for patients. For example, a parent may log in for one child and then ask questions about a second child. For providers and staff, a challenge is that there is no way to know whether a Web‐enabled patient actually uses the portal and there are no read receipts to confirm that patients have read a message.

When did PHMG start patient portal?

PHMG launched the patient portal in early 2010. As a first step, the physician champion piloted the portal for about 6 months before it was implemented in one clinic at a time. According to the physician champion, implementation was “easier than expected because everyone was already comfortable with eClinicalWorks, ...

What is the PHMG strategy?

PHMG had a strategy of ensuring that patients hear about the portal from multiple sources during each clinical visit. To execute this strategy, PHMG used several methods of communication, including:

When did PHMG implement EHR?

In 2007 PHMG implemented an EHR system, eClinicalWorks, as part of a strategy to improve quality of care and facilitate coordination of care across its multiple clinic locations. In preparing for implementation, PHMG proceeded with:

Is the portal easy to use?

It’s really very easy to use. If you use the Internet, you’ll most likely find the portal helpful and easy to navigate. They found that it is particularly persuasive when providers encourage patients to use the portal because patients trust providers and value their opinions.

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Patient-Provider Messaging

  • Patients use the messaging featuresin the portal to ask quick questions that would otherwise have required a phone call. Portals allow patients and providers to stay in touch and maintain better health, even during a pandemic when in-person visits present more risks. Patients who te…
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Appointment Access & Telemedicine

  • Many patient portals integrate with telemedicine software. As patients schedule telemedicine visits, they receive information through their patient portal, including instructions on how to log in for the visit and any software or programs they will need for a successful telemed visit. Plus all the information about the visit is automatically transferred to the EHR and the medical billing sof…
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Lab & Test Results

  • Many clinics and providers send test results through patient portals. That’s even more important now as patients are anxiously waiting for results from COVID-19 testing, antibody testing, and any other routine and necessary tests during the pandemic. The old way of trying to call a patient to give them a test result can mean long delays as your staff plays “phone tag” with someone. Spe…
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Share Information

  • Portals also allow your clinic to share important information about COVID-19, clinic hours, changes to your schedule, heightened safety and cleaning measures, and more. During this time when a lot is uncertain, the portal is a vital communication tool that you can use to your advantage. Portals won’t necessarily make everything seem “normal” right now, but they can defi…
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