meaningful use patient portal access change

Portal use was associated with an 8% decrease in ED visits and an 11% decrease in hospitalization, statistically significant for those with multiple problems and trending in that direction for patients with diabetes alone. Portals, at least in this study, enhanced access to physician communication.

Full Answer

How do you benefit from your patient portal?

Meaningful Use and the Patient Portal: Patient enrollment, use and satisfaction with patient portals at a later-adopting center. Joan Neuner, MD, ... Only 11.0% reported that ability to access the patient portal on a smartphone was a very important future addition, ...

How to get your patients to use your patient portal?

Sep 21, 2021 · Individuals’ use of patient portals to communicate and share health information has increased since 2017. FINDINGS ★ About six in 10 patient portal users exchanged secure messages with their health care provider in 2020 – this …

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

Oct 31, 2016 · Outside of the benefits to the patient, implementation of patient portals had come to the attention of healthcare providers due to the inclusion of Meaningful Use of objectives centered on the use of patient portals and electronic engagement with patients. Stage 3 requirements are still being explored and the impact it will have on Health Centers is unknown.

What is the value of a patient portal?

Many physicians are adopting patient portals in response to governmental incentives for meaningful use (MU), but the stage 2 requirements for portal use may be particularly challenging for newer electronic health record (EHR) users. This study examined enrollment, use based on MU requirements, and s …

How can patient portals be improved?

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.Jun 25, 2020

How do you set up a patient portal?

How do I sign up for the Patient Portal?Click this link.Select “Sign Up Today” in the lower left-hand corner.Follow the steps to enter your information, verify your identity, and set your password.That's it! ... Allow family members to manage your care.View test and lab results.Request or schedule appointments.More items...•Apr 11, 2017

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.

What does Mu require patients receive and how does that relate to the patient portal?

The 2014 stage 2 MU regulations require that patients themselves initiate interactions with the EHR; specifically, they require that 5% of patients 1) download or otherwise view electronic health information and 2) use secure electronic messages (e-mail).Feb 21, 2014

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 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.

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 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.

How would you encourage patients to use patient portals?

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...•Aug 12, 2019

What is a 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

Which type of information system helps healthcare providers diagnose and treat patient symptoms?

The purpose of a clinical decision support system is to assist healthcare providers, enabling an analysis of patient data and using that information to aid in formulating a diagnosis. A CDSS offers information to clinicians and primary care providers to improve the quality of the care their patients receive.

What is a clinical system in healthcare?

A Clinical Information System (CIS) is a computer based system that is designed for collecting, storing, manipulating and making available clinical information important to the healthcare delivery process.

Summary

Individuals’ rates of being offered and subsequently accessing their patient portal increased significantly between 2018 and 2019, but did not change in 2020.

Data Source and Methods

Data are from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

Suggested Citation

Johnson C, Richwine C, & Patel V. (September 2021). Individuals’ Access and Use of Patient Portals and Smartphone Health Apps, 2020. ONC Data Brief, no.57. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: Washington DC.

What are the steps that providers should take to improve patient engagement?

Some key actions that providers should take to improve patient engagement is to implement proactive and engaging features as well as promote and expedite portal use.

What are the key issues that concern providers?

One of the key issues that concerns providers is the difficulty of increasing patient engagement and the use of patient portals. Having patients be more aware and have more control over their own health is necessary to ensure better patient outcomes and quality of care.

What is meaningful use?

Meaningful use refers to not just having electronic health records (EHR), but using them in a useful way for patients. And while getting the various EHRs to talk to one another seems not to have been considered meaningful, EHRs have implemented patient portals – a means for patients to e-communicate with their physicians ...

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. ...

How many Medicare beneficiaries use portals?

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.

What is EHR incentive?

The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs encourage patient involvement in their health care. Online access to health information allows patients to make informed decisions about their care and share their most recent clinical information with other health care providers and personal caregivers.

Does CMS require growth charts?

However, because this certification capability is not required, eligible professionals and hospitals do not need to generate and make growth charts available in order to meet the objective.

Can a patient opt out of health information?

A: A patient can choose not to access their health information, or “opt-out.” Patients cannot be removed from the denominator for opting out of receiving access. If a patient opts out, a provider may count them in the numerator if they have been given all the information necessary to opt back in without requiring any follow up action from the provider, including, but not limited to, a user ID and password, information on the patient website, and how to create an account.

Can a group practice share credit?

A: Yes. Eligible professionals in group practices are able to share credit to meet the patient electronic access threshold if they each saw the patient during the EHR reporting period and they are using the same certified EHR technology. The patient can only be counted in the numerator by all of these eligible professionals if the patient views, downloads, or transmits their health information online. See the FAQ.

Can a provider withhold information from a patient's website?

However, the provider may withhold any information from online disclosure if he or she believes that providing such information may result in significant harm.

Why do physicians suggest portals?

When physicians suggest the portal, or even help set the portal up, it gives the patient an extra layer of confidence in the technology. Furthermore, patients are more likely to access labs or send messages through the portal when a physician suggests that they do so and actually responds to messages sent via the portal.

Who is Missy from Meditech?

Missy is a Senior Manager in MEDITECH Client Services Division and oversees both Implementation and Service for Patient Engagement. Missy has been with MEDITECH for over 20 years and has held many roles throughout Client Services and Development, working with the Clinical, Administrative, and Financial applications. Missy has focused on the Patient Portal since the initial roll out and has over a decade of experience with the design, deployment, and support of Patient Engagement solutions. Missy translates her passion for patient engagement and virtual care solutions into working with customers to help them create and implement innovative strategies that will maximize not only the consumer experience, but also better engage clinicians and staff.