patient portal data elements

by Celestine Larkin DVM 8 min read

Patient Portals, Part 2: What Features Do You Need?

11 hours ago Sep 29, 2017 · A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits; Discharge summaries; Medications; Immunizations; Allergies; Lab results >> Go To The 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
  • Medication lists
  • Lab and test results

More items...

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.

Full Answer

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits; Discharge summaries; Medications; Immunizations; Allergies; Lab results

Do patient portals improve access to personal health information among older adults?

Despite broader issues of accessibility, such as computer use and Internet access, study findings highlight the small but substantial role of patient portals as a platform to facilitate management of personal health information among older adults.

What features attract patients to a portal?

“Some features tend to draw patients to a portal more than others,” said Joy Woodke, COE, OCS, practice administrator at Oregon Eye Consultants. “For example, the ability to pay their bill online might be more appealing or helpful to some patients than the features that we are trying to get them to use in order to meet the MU requirements.”

How are patient education pieces saved to the portal?

Every relevant education piece is not only saved to a patient’s chart but is also sent to the portal. Before our patients leave the office after an appointment, we tell them that we will be sending this information to their portal account. When they get home, they can read it at their leisure and share it with their family or friends.

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What are data elements in healthcare?

In computer terms, data elements are objects that can be collected, used, and/or stored in clinical information systems and application programs, such as patient name, gender, and ethnicity; diagnosis; primary care provider; laboratory results; date of each encounter; and each medication.

What is included in patient database?

It includes informationally typically found in paper charts as well as vital signs, diagnoses, medical history, immunization dates, progress notes, lab data, imaging reports and allergies. Other information such as demographics and insurance information may also be contained within these records.

What types of data are included in a patient portal and PHR?

PRHs can contain:Doctors' names and contact information.Allergy lists.Drug or medication lists.A record of illnesses or surgeries.A vaccination record.Chronic health conditions.Living wills or advance directives.Family histories.

What are the different types of patient portals?

There are two main types of patient portals: a standalone system and an integrated service. Integrated patient portal software functionality usually comes as a part of an EMR system, an EHR system or practice management software. But at their most basic, they're simply web-based tools.

What are the 12 main components of the medical record?

12-Point Medical Record Checklist : What Is Included in a Medical...Patient Demographics: Face sheet, Registration form. ... Financial Information: ... Consent and Authorization Forms: ... Release of information: ... Treatment History: ... Progress Notes: ... Physician's Orders and Prescriptions: ... Radiology Reports:More items...•

What are the 5 components of the electronic medical record?

5 Basic Components of an Electronic Medical Record SystemData module input system. ... Patient call log. ... Prescription management system. ... Backup system.

What information can be accessed through a patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits. Discharge summaries.

What are three personal health records?

personal health record (PHR)Information about visits to healthcare professionals.Allergies.Family history.Immunizations.Information about any conditions or diseases.A list of medications taken.Records of hospitalization.Information about any surgeries or procedures performed.

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.

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...•

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.

Why are patient portals 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.

What information is considered part of the patient record?

An individual's record can consist of a facility's record, outpatient diagnostic test results or therapies, pharmacy records, physician records, other care providers' records, and the patient's own personal health record. Administrative and financial documents and data may be intermingled with clinical data.

What information is stored in a hospital database?

A record that is comprehensive contains: demographic data, administrative data, health risks and health status, patient medical history, current management of health conditions, and outcomes data.

How do you create a patient database?

Developing a Patient Database.Preceptor Development: Patient Care Process.• Setting the stage for developing a patient.database. • Elements of the patient database. ... • Preparing your student. • Reviewing the database.• Feedback and evaluation of your student. ... Outline.Evaluate and identify how you gather.More items...

Which type of database is most commonly used in healthcare?

Common databases found in healthcare include Medicare Provider Analysis and Review File, National Practitioner Data Bank, and National health Care survey.

Why do we need portals?

Other reasons to implement a portal include: To foster better patient-physician relationships: Portals offer a round-the-clock platform on which both parties can conveniently exchange health information, ask questions, and review medical notes—providing more opportunities to connect.

What is a highlight in healthcare?

Highlight: Allows patients to send messages from the portal to the healthcare provider in a safe and secure manner. Provides patients with a convenient alternative to face-to-face appointments, telephone contact, letters, and e-mails to send messages.

Do patients have to provide email addresses?

Collect patients’ email addresses: Patients usually have to provide their email address to register for access to your portal. If you start collecting addresses early in the implementation process, you’ll be able to hit the ground running once the portal goes live.

Why are patient portals important?

One of the top benefits of patient portal usage is dramatic increase of patient engagement due to opening various possibilities of involvement for patients in their healthcare upon patient portal activation and utilization.

Why is it important to refrain from using patient portal?

It is important to note that patients refraining from applying patient portal option admit privacy concerns as a reason. It means that, provided they could feel reassured of the mentioned concerns , they would be willing to apply patient portal access more often.

Why is patient engagement important in healthcare?

According to the World Health Organization Report, patient engagement became an integral component of healthcare as patients once involved in the process are more capable of taking informed decisions in favor of healthcare awareness.

Why are portals beneficial?

Portals are beneficial in terms of managing the process of patient registration with ease. Patient portals enable easy-to-perform sign in to get access to the records or complete patient forms for having a test, getting insights with health history data, tapping in immunization records, or lists of prescribed medication lists.

What is the ultimate requirement for compliance with HIPAA regulations?

It should be noted that the ultimate requirement for compliance with HIPAA regulations demands that all patient portal vendors ensure the restricted access to protected health information by enabling the usage of a secure username and the strong password for each individual user.

What is patient electronic access?

The patient electronic access measure requires EPs to provide patients the ability to view online, download, and transmit their health information within four (4) business days of the information being available to the provider.

Why do EPs need a summary of care record?

The purpose of a summary of care record is to ensure that the provider who transitions a patient to someone else’s care gives the receiving provider the most up-to-date information available. When an EP transitions their patient to another setting or provider of care, or refers their patient to another provider, the EP should provide a summary of care record for the next provider of care.

What is a clinical summary?

clinical summary of an office visit provides patients and their families with a record of the office visit and specific lab tests, follow-up actions, and treatment related to the visit. While this information is part of the patient's overall electronic health record, the clinical summary highlights information relevant to the patient's care at that particular moment. Because it is designed to be linked to a particular office visit and provided to the patient either at the conclusion of the visit or shortly thereafter, the information required for the clinical summary is limited to the information that is available in the EHR at the time the clinical summary is provided.

What is stage 2 of EHR?

Three of these objectives—Clinical Summary, Patient Electronic Access, and Summary of Care —outline specific data elements needed to meet the objective. While some of the data elements are common between these three objectives, other data elements are individual to each objective.

How do patient portals empower consumers?

When used effectively, patient portals can empower consumers by enabling active management of their own care. However, we know little about how patient portal use fits into the broader personal health information management (PHIM) practices of various groups, such as older adults.

How old are Portal users?

Portal users ranged in age from 61 to 93 years , and most lived independently in a private residence (60%) and had college education or higher (67%). Although portal nonusers were similar in age, fewer were college educated (53%) and more lived in retirement or assisted living facilities (74%).

Why is it important to understand consumer health information?

Important to the success of the consumer health movement is accurate, accessible, and understandable health information to assist with treatment and health decisions . Older adults are the largest consumers of health care and expend the greatest proportion of US health care dollars.

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