patient portal barriers

Three Common Barriers and How to Overcome Them

• Cultural Barriers. Growing up, Douglas knew his doctor. He knew his doctor’s family. Now his doctor is just one...
• Technological Barriers. When looking at a broader cohort, technology seems to be a sticking point for many consumers.
• Lack of Information. Douglas is also unclear on how having an account on the patient portal...

Full Answer

What are the barriers to patient portal implementation in hospitals?

The most common barriers to patient portal adoption are preference for in-person communication, not having a need for the patient portal, and feeling uncomfortable with computers, which are barriers that are modifiable and can be intervened upon. Patient characteristics can help predict which patien …

What are some examples of barriers and facilitators in patient education?

May 11, 2018 · Only barriers were anticipated for patients (common to all stakeholder groups), especially related to patients’ characteristics and patient portal use. These barriers included lack of eHealth literacy. This can be due to the diversity of the patient population because it will include immigrants, older patients, and people with limited literacy skills.

Are patient portals a good idea?

May 15, 2018 · If a patient has low health literacy, they are unlikely to find patient portal data useful. Some health IT developers have begun to leverage natural language processing (NLP) to make patient portal information more accessible for patients with lower health literacy. On average, most patients have poor health literacy. NLP helps to translate certain clinical terms …

How can providers improve patient engagement with patient portals?

The main barriers were lack of resources (namely, lack of staff and materials), financial difficulties (especially complying with high costs, lack of reimbursements), and guaranteeing privacy and security (eg, strict regulations). Both similarities and differences were found between stakeholder groups and hospital types.

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

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 some barriers to access of care?

Barriers to HealthcareHealth Professional Shortage.Transportation Access.Lack of Health Insurance.Financial Constraints.Language Barriers.

What is the most common barrier to the use of the patient portal?

Conclusions: The most common barriers to patient portal adoption are preference for in-person communication, not having a need for the patient portal, and feeling uncomfortable with computers, which are barriers that are modifiable and can be intervened upon.Sep 17, 2020

What are the pros and cons of 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 benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the benefits of patient portals?Patient portals are efficient. ... Patient portals improve communication. ... They store health information in one place. ... Patient portals satisfy meaningful use standards. ... They improve data accuracy. ... Patient portals make refilling prescriptions easy. ... They're available whenever you need them.More items...•Jul 15, 2019

What is the biggest barrier to healthcare?

Various studies have shown that people living rurally have more difficulty getting the medical support they need. Most of the primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), for example, are rural. In cities, people living in disadvantaged or outlying neighborhoods might also struggle to get healthcare.Jun 30, 2021

What are the three major barriers to adequate care?

Global health organizations should be dedicated to reaching those patients who do not have access to healthcare. There are three major barriers– physical, financial, and educational– responsible for impeding access to medical care.

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 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.

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.

Abstract

Background: Patient access to their medical records through patient portals (PPs) facilitates information exchange and provision of quality health care. Understanding factors that characterize patients with limited access to and use of PPs is needed.

Introduction

Patient engagement is a top priority for US health care systems. 1 The adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is a system-level strategy to involve patients in their health care and increase their ability to make informed decisions.

Methods

Data were from the 2017−2018 Health Information National Trends Survey 5, cycles 1 (H5C1) and 2 (H5C2). H5C1 and H5C2 were nationally representative, self-administered, mail surveys of US adults ≥ 18 years that evaluated public perceptions and use of PPs.

Measures

Access to PPs was assessed with, “Do any of your doctors/health care providers maintain your medical records in a computerized system?” and “Have you ever been offered online access to your medical records by your health care provider?” [1 = yes, 0 = no/do not know].

Analyses

Weighted missing percentage for demographic characteristics was highest for income (9.7%) and race/ethnicity (8%). Missingness on all other variables, including outcome variables, was < 4%. Little’s test showed that missingness on variables collected at both waves was not completely at random (χ 2 = 16505.72; df = 14235; P < .001).

Associations between Patient Characteristics and PPs Access and Use

Roughly 3 quarters of participants (76.9%) reported their provider maintained electronic medical records but only 47.2% reported being offered access to them, 39.2% reported their provider encouraged their use, 27.2% were confident electronic medical records were safe, and 29.3% and 9.3% reported accessing their own or their families’ medical records in the past year..

Associations between Patient Characteristics and Use of PP Functionalities

Knowledge of PP functions varied, with laboratory test results (91.5%) being the most known function and clinical notes (50.6%) being the least ( Figure 1 ). Use of PP functions varied, with viewing test results (84.3%) being the most used function and requesting corrections (7.1%) being the least.

Barriers and Facilitators to Patient Portal Adoption and Use

What is the first thing that comes to mind when hearing “Patient portal?” Is it access to health information, or video visits and messaging with medical professionals, or even a place to schedule virtual appointments?

Overcoming Barriers

When addressing innovation barriers, patient portals are not immune to hacks, just like any other institution or company that works online. However, as hospitals and clinics abide by HIPAA compliance, as do their EHRs, there is no more chance of hacking a patient portal as there is to hack the EHR itself.

About the Author

Jennifer Morency is the Director of Marketing for Hello Health, the complete Cloud-Based EHR, Practice Management System and Patient Portal, that helps practices be more efficient and increase patient engagement.

Can cybercriminals access health records?

Given the frequent news stories of cyber-criminals breaking into the computer networks of retail chains, government databases, and even health care organizations, it's no wonder that some patients are less than willing to access their health records or discuss sensitive matters online.

Can a physician be reimbursed for using a portal?

There's no way around it: Other than receiving meaningful use incentive payments (and avoiding penalties), physicians typically won't get directly reimbursed for using a portal. In fact, some physicians fear that successfully answering patient questions through secure messaging might create additional appointment capacity that the practice would need to fill to avoid declining revenue.