patient portal adoption

Why do patients adopt the patient portal?

Despite the increasing availability of online patient portals that provide access to electronic health records, little is known about their adoption by patients. We systematically reviewed the literature to investigate adoption of patient portals across studies. We searched MEDLINE and Scopus to identify relevant papers.

What is portal adoption and use?

Patient portals were introduced and adopted by a few large health care organizations in the late 1990s (eg, MyChart at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Indivo at Boston Children’s Hospital) [3,4]. What are the top pros and cons of adopting patient portals? What are the Top Pros and Cons of Adopting Patient Portals?

What is the patient portal adoption rate?

May 26, 2017 · Patient Portal Adoption By William Ranschaert · May 26, 2017 Just like the rapid evolution of the EHR, patient portals have become the norm for providers and patients alike. Along with eliminating a lot of paperwork and the digitization of administration, patient portals can also improve patient care.

How can you increase portal adoption in your practice?

Providers and care teams have one of the most important roles in promoting portal adoption. Facilities where providers inform and encourage patients to use the portal have a much higher engagement rate than those who do not. Bring value.

How do I increase patient portal adoption?

How to Improve Patient Portal Adoption, Registration RatesConduct patient outreach, education.Considering hard-to-reach populations.Using the patient portal in public health efforts.Jan 27, 2021

How do you implement a patient portal?

7 Steps to Implement a New Patient Portal SolutionResearch different solutions. ... Look for the right features. ... Get buy-in from key stakeholders. ... Evaluate and enhance existing workflows. ... Develop an onboarding plan. ... Successful go-live. ... Seek out painless portal migration.Jul 2, 2020

How many hospitals have patient portals?

Just around one-third of hospitals said that less than 10 percent of their patients have adopted the tool, while fewer than 10 percent of hospitals said most of their patients have adopted the portal. Healthcare organizations are working to add additional offerings, likely in an effort to bring patients to the portal.Apr 11, 2019

Why do patients not use patient portals?

The researchers found no demographic differences among nonusers who said that a technology hurdle, lack of internet access or no online medical record was the reason why they did not make use of a patient portal.May 14, 2019

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

Is a patient portal an EHR?

Background. Electronic health record (EHR) patient portals provide a means by which patients can access their health information, including diagnostic test results.

How many patients actually use patient portals?

FINDINGS. Nearly 40 percent of individuals nationwide accessed a patient portal in 2020 – this represents a 13 percentage point increase since 2014.Sep 21, 2021

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.Nov 11, 2021

Is patient portal safe?

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.

Who uses patient portals?

Overwhelmingly, patients use the portal to view their lab results (85 percent). Sixty-two percent of patients are also using the tool for more clinical tasks, such as scheduling appointments, completing paperwork, and refilling prescriptions.Apr 16, 2018

Do doctors like patient portals?

Perception of Portal Use by Patients. Providers were even more positive about their perceived comprehensive impact of the portal on patient care. The respondents were particularly enthusiastic about their believe that it improved patient care (60%); and that it improved patient adherence (52%) (Figure 2).

Do patients like patient portals?

Eight studies reported that patients or their caregivers want more portal education, training, or support. Two studies found that their participants want human connection as they learn about the portal and how to use it, as well as when they encounter issues.Jan 25, 2021

What can providers do?

Influence. Providers and care teams have one of the most important roles in promoting portal adoption. Facilities where providers inform and encourage patients to use the portal have a much higher engagement rate than those who do not.

Add value by activating features that meet patient needs

You can assess which portal features have the most value by going straight to the source: your patients. Ask them about the features they want or find useful, and tailor your portal to meet their needs.

Integrate patient-generated health data

Technology has changed how patients monitor their own health. One in five people use technology to track their health from fitness monitors to home medical devices. Using patient-generated health data has big advantages. Studies show it:

External marketing tips

Make the message to enroll and use the portal highly visible in your practice by:

The importance of internal buy-in

Internal buy-in is just as important as your external marketing strategies. Once your staff is sold on the benefits of the portal, they will enthusiastically encourage patients to sign up. Some tips to facilitate staff buy-in include:

Why is patient portal important?

The patient portal does have a lot to offer patients, and because of certain regulatory requirements, may be the tool best positioned to fulfill certain benchmarks. But to gain a meaningful return on investment with the tool, organizations must aim higher than offering the tool.

What is PGHD in medical terms?

PGHD is health data that has been contributed by the patient, either from medical histories, patient observations, wearable sensors, or other biometric measuring devices.

Why is patient health literacy important?

Patient health literacy is an integral key to improving patient portal adoption. Just as patients want to see the features they value in way that is navigable, they also want to understand that information. If a patient has low health literacy, they are unlikely to find patient portal data useful.

What are the benefits of patient portal?

Patient portal benefits are numerous – they provide patients access to their health data, allow patients to securely message their providers, and in many cases allow patients to complete administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments and paying bills. Providers have recognized those benefits and nearly universally offer access to ...

Why is NLP important?

NLP helps to translate certain clinical terms in the patient portal to make them more understandable for patients. Providers must also do their jobs to improve patient health literacy.

What are some examples of lack of motivation?

Lack information or motivation — for example, they don’t have signup instructions or they feel too busy. Question the value of digital communication — for example, they think it won’t be useful or they prefer phone over email. Need computer help — for example, they don’t have computer access or skills 9.

How to facilitate enrollment?

To facilitate enrollment, automatically enroll your patients in a portal account, instead of waiting for patients to sign up themselves. Keep enrollment numbers up by encouraging new patients to stay registered and offering tips for patients with limited computer access or skills.

What is Mana Health?

Mana Health, a health IT developer, enables patients to sign up in a few simple steps. When a patient registers, Mana’s system uses data (like demographics and the patient’s medical record number) to match up the patient with her EHR. This automated verification system means an efficient, successful enrollment process for practices and patients.

What is AVS in Inova Health?

Working closely with its partners, Inova Health revised the after-visit summary (AVS) to make the benefits of EHRs salient, highlight clear action steps, and encourage immediate action. Analysis suggests that the revised instructions led to a 10% increase in the probability of online patient portal activation.