patient portal implementation

To get your patients to use the portal, make sure you involve marketing and education in your implementation. Your patients need to know the tool exists, understand what it can do, and learn how to use it. Patient portals hold a lot of promise for improving relationships and interaction.

Full Answer

How to implement a patient portal in your practice?

For the patient portal implementation to be most beneficial, the practice will offer patient education sessions to help patients register and to familiarize them with the portal’s features. In addition, a computer will be placed in the waiting area so staff can help patients register with the portal on the spot.

Does the physician portal increase workload?

Physicians who participated in the portal's pilot implementation had expected workload to increase (64% agreed), but after implementation, 87% of those responding were neutral or disagreed that workload had increased.

How do patients feel about web-based information and electronic communication?

For many patients, the use of Web-based information and electronic communication is “second nature”; consequently, they are comfortable using the portal. As one clinician observed, “Lots of patients are accustomed to using electronic communication now. They don’t want to have to pick up the phone anymore.”

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 do you implement MyChart?

You can sign up for a MyChart account on your healthcare provider's MyChart website or in the MyChart mobile app.Click Access MyChart at the top of this page to find your MyChart provider, then click Sign Up to request an activation code.Follow the steps to verify your identity and create your MyChart account.

What are the benefits and challenges of implementing a patient portal?

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 is the nurse's role in implementation of patient portals in healthcare?

Nurses see the portal as an additional service for patients, because it offers them the possibility for asking questions at any time and place suitable for the patient. Some nurses experience an increase in work load, because patients ask more non-urgent questions that otherwise would not be asked.Jun 15, 2012

How do I send a patient a message to MyChart?

1:023:58MyChart: Using the Message Center (For Desktop) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou can select which organization to send the message to select the topic that fits your questionMoreYou can select which organization to send the message to select the topic that fits your question the recipient. And then type a subject. And a message.

How do I upload documents to MyChart?

1:003:47How to attach files in MyChart - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipEnter your username and password. Click the login button click personal records files can only beMoreEnter your username and password. Click the login button click personal records files can only be attached to the test category.

Why is a patient portal important?

A patient portal is a website for your personal health care. The online tool helps you to keep track of your health care provider visits, test results, billing, prescriptions, and so on. You can also e-mail your provider questions through the portal.Aug 13, 2020

How can the patient portal affect patient satisfaction?

Patient portal users reported a high degree of usability and general satisfaction: 93% (891/957) of respondents felt the patient portal was easy to use, 83% (794/957) said it made communication more convenient, and 75% (716/957) indicated it saved time when scheduling an appointment.

How do patients feel about patient portals?

Some patients recognize the role of patient portals in their health care, reporting satisfaction with the ability to communicate with their health care teams and perform tasks such as requesting prescription refills conveniently [3,16].

Is a patient portal an EHR?

Electronic health record (EHR) patient portals provide a means by which patients can access their health information, including diagnostic test results. Little is known about portal usage by emergency department (ED) patients.

How beneficial is a new patient portal?

Your new patient portal will only be beneficial if your practice staff and patients know how to use it. Select a partner that provides consulting and onboarding to ensure you are successful with your new patient portal. This way, you can ensure you’re making the most of the new solution and taking full advantage of all the features it has to offer. Onboarding plans typically include details on training, workflow changes needed, new policies, and roles and responsibilities.

How should leading patient portals differentiate themselves?

Leading patient portals should differentiate themselves by providing proficiencies to your practice workflows. Evaluating workflows and enabling new benefits like patient self-scheduling, or pre-visit form completions can deliver significant workflow enhancements.

What is the importance of educating patients about the portal?

After promoting the portal at the initial launch, it is critical to reinforce the value of using the portal and to periodically undertake promotional efforts, especially when new portal features are rolled out.

What is a patient first template?

Patients First created templates for specific visit types that include links to relevant patient education materials. The template for Medicare wellness visits, for example, includes educational materials about carbon monoxide poisoning smoking cessation, secondhand smoke, seat belts, firearm safety, radon testing, and smoke detectors.

Why do providers need to adjust to completing their notes at the time of service?

Providers need to adjust to completing their notes at the time of service and writing their notes in plain language because they will be read by patients, rather than relayed to patients by medical personnel. Also, providers and patients need to adjust to secure messaging as a new mode of communication.

Why is clinical summary important?

The physician expressed that “the clinical summary is a huge, huge asset to the patient and the family” because it allows information to be shared accurately and efficiently. Providers feel that the clinical summary fosters patient engagement in health care, and helps patients understand what the provider is planning.

What is bulk enrollment?

Bulk Enrollment. Another major component of the portal launch was a bulk enrollment. To achieve this, Patients First pulled e-mail addresses—which are obtained from patients routinely as part of clinic intake—for patients who were not already enrolled and uploaded them using the NextMD Bulk Enrollment Processor. A script was created to verify valid user names and enroll patients using a pair of e-mail messages; the first to welcome them to NextMD and the second to give them a temporary password and instructions on how to access the portal to create their unique password.

How many patients were enrolled in the bulk enrollment process?

The bulk enrollment process was effective (12,000 patients enrolled), however some patients were not aware they were enrolled because the enrollment message went to spam.

Why is flexibility important in clinical practice?

Allowing Flexibility Encourages Adoption. Providers have given input into the development of templates for different clinical situations and they are able to tailor the clinical summary according to their own preferences.

Why are patient portals important?

Patient portals hold a lot of promise for improving relationships and interaction. They can also help your patients be better informed and more engaged in their care -- as long as everyone is equally willing to adopt the technology.

What does it mean to use an online portal?

Despite this desire, using an online portal means setting up yet another username and password and learning another online tool. They have to feel that it's worth it. To get your patients to use the portal, make sure you involve marketing and education in your implementation. Your patients need to know the tool exists, understand what it can do, and learn how to use it.

Why do we need a patient portal?

Why implement a patient portal? For practices with a website, a portal could be the next logical step. It can improve practice efficiency by allowing patients to go online to schedule appointments, preregister, pay bills, review information from their charts, and receive educational materials—all activities that otherwise would be done over the phone or in person during the office visit. And for practices that are moving on to Stage 2 of the federal meaningful use (MU) program for electronic health records (EHRs), a patient portal provides a means for satisfying the “patient electronic access” objective (see “ Portals and EHR Meaningful Use ”).

Can you focus on the patient?

You can focus on the patient, not on the registration process. “One of the most significant improvements we have experienced with the introduction of our patient portal has been the amount of time that we get to spend with a patient,” said Denise Fridl, COT, COE, who is her practice’s chief performance officer. “If patients have already submitted their registration information prior to their visit—rather than spending 10 minutes answering a technician’s questions—we can spend more quality time talking to them about why they are here for an appointment.”