nlc recommendations for patient portal

Do patient requests for nonclinical information and functions affect portal development?

Health care organizations may view patient requests of nonclinical information and functions such as electronic games [18,19,24,30] as fringe requests that could raise developmental costs. However, granting these requests may improve portal adoption and use and overall patient satisfaction.

Does patient condition influence portal use among cancer patients?

In addition to sociodemographic factors, there was higher portal use among patients with greater disease severity (eg, advanced cancer) [4], but at any given time, patient condition influenced portal use as described in Textbox 2. Seventeen articles addressed information and 20 addressed communication.

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

Patients and caregivers expressed interest in using portals to communicate with health care staff [6,24,30,36] but not many actually used this feature [30,44]

Who is least likely to benefit from patient portals?

Associations between patient sociodemographic characteristics and portal use [4,6,33,48] indicate that patients who are most vulnerable (eg, those with low health literacy or seriously ill) would be least likely to benefit from patient portals.

How do you improve patient portal?

5 steps to maximize your patient portal and boost practice...Meet patient priorities. ... Integrate the portal into practice workflow. ... Identify patients who will most benefit from portal use. ... Promote the portal. ... Evaluate portal use and modify practice operations.

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 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 safeguards are included in 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 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.

How the patient portal is empowering?

July 18, 2017 - Patients enjoy having patient portal health data access because it allows them to take ownership of their own care, makes them feel empowered as partners in their treatments, and helps them detect and identify errors their providers may have made in their medical records, according to a recent study.

Why do patient portals fail?

Conversely, most portals greet patients with inadequate functionality, confusing formatting, and hard to understand health data. Patients often lose interest in these portals, unsure of how to take advantage of any of their promised offerings.

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.

What are the 3 important safeguards to protect health information?

The law requires healthcare providers, plans and other entities to uphold patient confidentiality, privacy and security, and calls for three types of safeguards: administrative, physical, and technical.

What 3 security safeguards are used to protect the electronic health record?

The three pillars to securing protected health information outlined by HIPAA are administrative safeguards, physical safeguards, and technical safeguards [4].

What security measures should be taken to protect patients healthcare data?

How to Protect Healthcare DataEducate Healthcare Staff. ... Restrict Access to Data and Applications. ... Implement Data Usage Controls. ... Log and Monitor Use. ... Encrypt Data at Rest and in Transit. ... Secure Mobile Devices. ... Mitigate Connected Device Risks. ... Conduct Regular Risk Assessments.More items...•

Nurses can increase the use of a valuable healthcare tool

Editor’s note: This is an early release of a web exclusive article for the January 2022 issue of American Nurse Journal.

Challenges

Several factors—age, race, ethnicity, education, health status, and health literacy—influence portal benefits. A review by Irizarry and colleagues found that non-white patients and those with fewer years of formal education are less likely to register for patient portals than the less vulnerable populations would.

The future of portals

Portals and the devices to access them continue to evolve. Devices available remotely monitor vital signs, glucose levels, and heart rates, which contribute to the integration of human connection and technology.

Empower patients

Nurses occupy the frontline of patient communication. They play a critical role in encouraging patients to use portals by explaining the benefits, demonstrating their use, and providing reliable information about their security. Easy-to-use portals empower patients to access their personal health data and participate fully in their care.

What is a patient portal?

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.

Why is it important to access your medical records?

Accessing your personal medical records through a patient portal can help you be more actively involved in your own health care. Accessing your family members’ health information can help you take care of them more easily.

Nurses Can Increase The Use of A Valuable Healthcare Tool.

• Editor’s note: This is an early release of a web exclusive article for the January 2022 issue of American Nurse Journal. Takeaways: 1. Patient portals facilitate patient engagement in healthcare decisions, improve communication, and streamline care. 2. Less than one-third of patients access patient portals to view their medical data. 3. Nurses can ...

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Challenges

Nurses’ Role

The Future of Portals

Empower Patients