measurement of clinical outcomes for a patient portal

by Kenyon Gleason 5 min read

The Effect of Patient Portals on Quality Outcomes and Its …

10 hours ago  · Patient portal interventions lead to improvements in a wide range of psychobehavioral outcomes, such as health knowledge, self-efficacy, decision making, medication adherence, and preventive service use. Effects of patient portal interventions on clinical outcomes including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, and weight loss were mixed. >> Go To The Portal


An analysis of patient outcomes and portal use propensity scores revealed that there was no statistical difference between the groups for any outcomes measures. Metrics including 30-day readmissions, inpatient mortality, and 30-day mortality was the same for both portal users and non-users.

Full Answer

How do patient portals affect clinical outcomes?

Patient portals affect clinical outcomes, health service utilization, patient adherence, patient–provider communication, patient empowerment, and patient satisfaction with health services by four mechanisms. These mechanisms are: patient insight into information, activation of information, interpersonal continuity of care, and service convenience.

What are Patient-Reported Outcome measures?

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) fall within the patient experience outcome measure category. According to the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), PROMs “assess the patient’s experience and perception of their healthcare.

Which outcome measures does CMS use to calculate hospital quality?

The seven groupings of outcome measures CMS uses to calculate hospital quality are some of the most common in healthcare: Mortality is an essential population health outcome measure.

What do patients want from outcomes data?

Patients rely on outcomes data to make educated decisions about their healthcare. Quality reporting organizations, such as The LeapFrog Group, evaluate and report on U.S. hospital safety and quality performance. Patients want reassurance that they’re receiving the best care for the lowest cost.

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How do you measure clinical outcomes?

Clinical outcomes can be measured by activity data such as hospital re-admission rates, or by agreed scales and other forms of measurement. They can be recorded by administrators or by clinical staff such as doctors, nurses, psychologists or allied health professionals (e.g. physiotherapists, dietitians).

What are examples of clinical outcomes?

Typical examples of outcomes are cure, clinical worsening, and mortality. The primary outcome is the variable that is the most relevant to answer the research question. Ideally, it should be patient-centered (i.e., an outcome that matters to patients, such as quality of life and survival).

What elements should be incorporated into a patient portal?

A robust patient portal should include the following features:Clinical summaries.Secure (HIPAA-compliant) messaging.Online bill pay.New patient registration.Ability to update demographic information.Prescription renewals and contact lens ordering.Appointment requests.Appointment reminders.More items...

How do patient portals improve patient outcomes?

Most of the portal interventions used tailored alerts or educational resources tailored to the patient's condition. Patient portal interventions lead to improvements in a wide range of psychobehavioral outcomes, such as health knowledge, self-efficacy, decision making, medication adherence, and preventive service use.

What is clinical outcomes assessment?

A clinical outcome assessment is a measure that describes or reflects how a patient feels, functions, or survives. Types of COAs include: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Observer-reported outcome (ObsRO) measures. Clinician-reported outcome (ClinRO) measures.

What are clinical significance outcome measures?

Clinical significance/meaningfulness is the practical importance of a treatment effect—whether it has a real genuine, palpable, noticeable effect on daily life. Clinical meaningfulness generally refers to an outcome measure's ability to provide the clinician and the patient with consequential information.

What are the duties of a portal in hospital?

Essential Functions:Patient Overview, Assignments and Case Load:Documentation:Patient Navigation Service:Use of Educational Materials and Resources:New Patient Orientation:

When did the medical field start using patient portals?

Early Implementation And Growth Of Patient Portals 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.

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.

How do you improve patient portals?

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...•

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

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.

How would you improve a patient online?

First and foremost, get yourself online!Create Online Patient Portal. ... Improve Collaboration and Communication. ... Make Your Facility Navigable. ... Keep Patients in the Loop. ... Help and Educate Patients. ... Collect Patient Feedback. ... Adopt Technology.

How effective are patient portals?

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. Understanding the role of patient portals as an effecti …

How effective are patient portal interventions?

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.

Why is patient portal important?

Understanding the role of patient portals as an effective intervention strategy is an essential step to encourage patients to be actively engaged in their health care.

What is outcome measure?

The World Health Organization defines an outcome measure as a “change in the health of an individual, group of people, or population that is attributable to an intervention or series of interventions.”. Outcome measures (mortality, readmission, patient experience, etc.) are the quality and cost targets healthcare ...

Why do patients rely on outcomes data?

Patients rely on outcomes data to make educated decisions about their healthcare. Quality reporting organizations, such as The LeapFrog Group, evaluate and report on U.S. hospital safety and quality performance. Patients want reassurance that they’re receiving the best care for the lowest cost.

How much is readmission after hospitalization?

Readmission is costly (and often preventable). In fact, researchers estimate that in one year, $ 25 to $45 billion is spent on avoidable complications and unnecessary hospital readmissions. After increasing efforts to reduce their hospital readmission rate, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) saw a 14.5 percent relative reduction in their 30-day all-cause readmission rate, resulting in $1.9 million in cost avoidance. UTMB reduced their hospital readmission rate by implementing several care coordination programs and leveraging their analytics platform and advanced analytics applications to improve the accuracy and timeliness of data for informing decision making and monitoring performance.

Why should outcomes measurement always tie back to the quadruple aim?

Outcomes measurement should always tie back to the Quadruple Aim, so healthcare organizations aren’t just reporting numbers . Health systems shouldn’t become so obsessed with numbers that they forget their Quadruple Aim goal. Instead, they should focus on quality and improving the care experience at the most efficient cost.

How does healthcare manage complexities?

Health systems can manage these complexities by taking a closer look at outcome measures —understanding their definitions and nuances, reviewing real-world examples, and integrating three essentials for successful outcomes measurement.

Why is it important to track clinician compliance with care guidelines?

It’s important to track clinician compliance with care guidelines; It’s equally important to monitor treatment outcomes and alert clinicians when care guidelines need to be reviewed.

What is Joint Commission?

The Joint Commission is a regulatory body that accredits health systems and has national standards for quality measures that are “developed with input from healthcare professionals, providers, subject matter experts, consumers, government agencies (including CMS) and employers.”. New standards must meet the following strict requirements:

How do patient portals affect health care?

Patient portals affect clinical outcomes, health service utilization, patient adherence, patient–provider communication, patient empowerment, and patient satisfaction with health services by four mechanisms. These mechanisms are: patient insight into information, activation of information, interpersonal continuity of care, and service convenience. The significance of these mechanisms differs per outcome. Reported outcomes of patient portals derive mostly from large and organized health service networks. In highly organized health service networks, patient portals appear to be complements to disease management programs rather than substitutes for these services. Paradoxically, patient portals may have higher impact in more fragmented contexts that are less conducive to patient portal implementation and use.

What are the benefits of patient portals?

The evaluations indicated that patient portals could lead to improvements in clinical outcomes, patient adherence, patient–provider communication, patient empowerment, and patient satisfaction with health services.

Does hospital patient portal improve clinical outcomes?

Hospital patient portal use does not improve clinical outcomes, leaving room for some technology enhancements to improve the tool. Source: Thinkstock. Share on Twitter.

Is a patient portal effective?

Likewise, the patient portal is effective in guiding and creating patient behavior change. This function is ideal for managing a condition such as diabetes, but has little impact on an acute case of pneumonia, for example. On the whole, however, inpatient patient portal use was low, the researchers said. This may be because the patient portal and ...

Does the inpatient portal provide education?

Finally, the inpatient portal does not provide education regarding patient-specific disease processes.”. These results do not mean the healthcare industry should forgo all efforts to integrate the patient portal into the inpatient encounter, the researchers said. Health IT developers should identify ways the portal can be adapted to ...

Why is measuring outcomes important?

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), measurement-based care provides several valuable insights within behavioral and mental healthcare, including: The knowledge of whether the treatments an organization or individual ...

Why is it important to implement outcome measures?

Implementing outcome measures can help increase treatment effectiveness and create meaningful change for your patients. Outcome measures also help put quantitative data behind mental and behavioral health transformation that can be challenging to evaluate otherwise.

How to measure behavioral and mental health outcomes?

Measuring behavioral and mental health outcomes requires a mix of patient input — typically through patient-reported outcome measures — facility analysis and outcome measurement tools. The Journal of the World Psychiatry Association offers the following recommendations for implementing outcome measures.

How can you adapt outcome measures?

You can and should adapt outcome measures to the symptoms and illnesses treated in your patients. Tracking outcomes across the four common domains can provide quantitative evidence to support progress or the need for treatment adjustments. A key to executing outcome measurements is creating an approach tailored to your organization.

How does measurement help in mental health?

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), measurement-based care provides several valuable insights within behavioral and mental healthcare, including: 1 The knowledge of whether the treatments an organization or individual practitioners provide are having a positive and significant impact on the patients served 2 Help prevent the failure of care, treatment or services 3 Help patients evaluate their progress in a quantifiable manner throughout care, treatment or service 4 Increased knowledge of developments for both patient and practitioner that can help providers adjust or maintain current treatment 5 Better patient outcomes and higher quality care

What are the checkpoints for quality measures?

If not, consider whether your measure has attributes that make it simple to report. These attributes include standardization, comparability, availability, timeliness, relevance, validity, experience, stability, evaluability, distinguishability and credibility.

What should measures be appropriate for?

The measures you address should be appropriate for your audience and goals. If you want your measures to increase facility transparency and improve your quality of care, it may not be as essential to please consumers. However, if you want your measures to be useful for consumers, you'll need to ensure the measures capture data consumers find relevant. To generate the results you desire, keep your facility and consumers in mind when determining which measures to address.

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