mobile app pulling and pushing revenue-related information patient portal

by Verda Thompson Jr. 9 min read

Mobile health apps | athenahealth

19 hours ago  · Medical and vaccination record. A vital element of any patient portal app is that it stores medical information for patients to access. These include medical histories and care plans. This helps provide patients with a comprehensive view of their specific health conditions. For example, through a patient portal app, a patient could view various ... >> Go To The Portal


How can providers use mobile health apps to improve patient outcomes?

 · Medical and vaccination record. A vital element of any patient portal app is that it stores medical information for patients to access. These include medical histories and care plans. This helps provide patients with a comprehensive view of their specific health conditions. For example, through a patient portal app, a patient could view various ...

What is a mobile-enabled patient portal?

Mobile health apps also help providers monitor and follow up with patients. For example, some mobile health apps use GPS technology to track a patient’s movement for a specified period, generate questions about the patient’s well-being, and include regular reminders to report or measure symptoms. Mobile health apps for consumers. In ...

How does the portal promote the clinic to the patient?

 · Step 2: Design & prototype. With a high-level plan at hand, we’re ready to move on to the next step — creating the UX and UI of the product. One thing to note about designing patient portal software is that it must support multiple user roles: front-desk staff, patients, doctors, nurses, management.

What is mobile health and eHealth?

 · Introduction. Despite the potential benefits of the use of patient portals to patients, caregivers, and providers to improve communication1 and better coordinate patient care,2 the …

What is the app for patient portal?

The patient portal is also available through a mobile app called PortalConnect. This increases convenience for patients as they can have secure access to all this important information from wherever they are.

What information can be accessed through a patient portal?

The features of patient portals may vary, but typically you can securely view and print portions of your medical record, including recent doctor visits, discharge summaries, medications, immunizations, allergies, and most lab results anytime and from anywhere you have Web access.

How do you encourage patient portal?

9 Effective Ways to Encourage Patients to Use Patient PortalsFill out forms.Pay bills online.View lab results.Review doctor's notes.Schedule appointments.Receive billing statements.Request prescription refills.Check benefits and coverage.More items...

What are two advantages of having a patient portal system?

Patient portals satisfy meaningful use standards Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities. Increase patient engagement. Improve care coordination. Expand population and public health.

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.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

About seven in 10 individuals cited their preference to speak with their health care provider directly as a reason for not using their patient portal within the past year. About one-quarter of individuals who did not view their patient portal within the past year reported concerns about privacy and security..

How do you optimize patient portals for patient engagement?

Make enrollment open to all patients. Have staff manage portal workflow and communication before engaging providers directly. Aim to establish efficient workflows and policies, and avoid burdening providers with troubleshooting during initial rollout. The whole staff should be involved in promoting the patient portal.

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.

How can patient compliance with portal registration be increased?

Offer an incentive for patient registration, such as entering the patient's name in a drawing for a prize (such as a restaurant gift card) or offering an incentive (such as a movie ticket or waived co-pay). Host a contest for staff, awarding a prize for the employee who signs up the most new patients for the portal.

Why is patient portal so important?

The Benefits of a Patient Portal 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.

How effective are patient portals?

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 important is patient portal?

Better Patient-Physician Relationships Patient portals provide the ability for patients to have 24-hour access to connect with their provider by reviewing patient health information (PHI), asking and answering questions, and reviewing notes, making the patient-physician relationship closer than ever.

Patient Collections Efforts Are Moving Up Front

As a group, respondents agreed that shifting patient revenue collections earlier in the patient encounter is critical to improving the timeliness and comprehensiveness of collections. Embracing a proactive and transparent process can shrink days in accounts receivable (A/R) and lessen the likelihood of bad debt.

Determining Eligibility Is More Than Just Checking Insurance

According to those interviewed, a key component in up-front patient financial conversations is the eligibility process. This process entails determining not only whether the patient has health insurance but also what that insurance covers.

Generating Accurate Cost Estimates Is Difficult but Necessary

Most respondents indicated that offering greater price transparency in the form of accurate cost estimates is critical to collecting pre-payment or payment at the point of service.

Payment Plans Are Popular

Regarding mitigating the risk of bad debt, one of the methods most frequently cited by the interviewed members was offering generous payment plans that allow patients the option to set regular payments across a more realistic time frame.

A Portal Can Enable a Better Patient Financial Experience

Survey participants indicated that the introduction of online payment portals has had a positive effect on patient payments.

The In-House Versus Outsource Debate Still Exists

When asked whether they keep collections efforts in house or leverage an outside resource, the interviewed members' response were split. "It can take a tremendous amount of staff time to support an empathetic and strong patient collections program," Dauchot says.

The Challenges Continue

The need to effectively and efficiently collect patient payment is not going away, and organizations must develop processes that enable a better patient financial experience to drive patient satisfaction and revenue.

What did the FQHC do to improve the portal?

The FQHC also took measures to increase patient support and acceptance of the portal. The organization used questions and points of confusion from telephone calls about the portal to identify areas for improvement. The organization also engaged a group of peer volunteers to help some of the older patients who were having difficulty using the portal.

Why is portal important?

The portal has proven to offer a much better means of communication. The care team is now able to keep in contact with patients more reliably and ask them direct questions when needed. Using the portal has enabled the organization to be more transparent and interactive with patients, and to proactively send patients the information they need.

What is the FQHC portal?

The FQHC sees improved communication between patients and providers, and views every instance when a patient emails a provider, nurse, or health coach as an opportunity to take a step towards better health. Patients find the portal to be useful and convenient, as it provides direct access to their health care and information as they need it. The portal supports the organizations philosophy of person-centered and respectful care, and perceives a resulting increase in responsibility and ownership among patients. Now that patients have a greater familiarity and comfort level with technology, the organization is planning to use telemedicine to offer virtual appointments to some patients.

How many no returns per month for a federally qualified health center?

A large Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) faced challenges communicating with their patients, resulting in as many as 200 no-returns per month. This loss of contact resulted in lost revenue and wasted staff time, and had the potential to diminish patient health through lack of follow-up.

Can iPads be used in a clinic?

The FQHC determined that tablet computers would provide the easiest experience for patients accessing the portal from a clinical setting, and chose to install iPads. Patients use these iPads in the clinic to submit requests directly to the care team while at their appointment. Patients can also access the portal on a mobile app or website when not at the clinic.

How does Apple require patients to authenticate data transfer?

Apple requires patients to authenticate the data transfer by logging into their health systems' EHR patient portals. Data then travel straight from the portal into the app, never passing through Apple servers. Patients can bear some of the responsibility, primarily by ensuring the app is from a trusted vendor.

Is it good to move data outside of the health record?

But moving data outside of the relatively safe confines of an electronic health record adds another layer of risk and vulnerability.

Why are patient portals important?

A major pro of patient portals is that they improve patient engagement. Engaged patients are more likely to stay loyal to a practice as compared to other organizations that don’t make much of an effort to connect.

What are the con's of patient portals?

One con to keep in mind with patient portals is that some patients may not have much experience with computers, preventing them from getting the most out of it.

Why do hospitals waste less time?

Your staff will waste less time because patients can leave them electronic messages via the portal, instead of having to stop what they are doing to respond to a call.

Can staff receive messages from patients?

Your staff can easily receive messages from patients over the portal , in a process that’s as easy as email. This cuts down on a lot of wasted time on both ends (patients forced to stay on hold to leave a message by phone, and staffers having to write down the message).

What is an EHR in medical practice?

An EHR is a database of all the records for your patients. It’s much more efficient than an antiquated, paper-based method for organizing charts in your practice.

Can portals be simplified?

But portals interfaces can be easily simplified and a simple training brochure or online video could make a big difference in getting more patients used to the idea of using the system. It’s natural to have a number of questions about installing an EHR and activating a patient portal for your practice.

Can a portal be used to do things the old fashioned way?

Otherwise, patient data could be compromised, leading to fraud and identity theft. A portal can be tough for some patients to comprehend, especially if they have been used to doing things the old-fashioned way. However, you can educate and acclimate patients to the portal when you explain the benefits to them.