patient portal litigation

How do portals improve patient-physician interaction?

Feb 22, 2022 · Patent Litigation By ALM Staff Quarles & Brady filed a patent infringement lawsuit Friday in Florida Southern District Court on behalf of …

Does the patient portal meet the intents of meaningful use?

Dec 20, 2019 · However, communication via a patient access portal does have some unique features that must be considered by the practitioner. Practitioners must remember that any communication via the patient portal creates a permanent record, which can and will be used in the event of litigation.

Are patient portal users able to interpret lab results accurately?

Feb 10, 2015 · Results. We identified 26 studies and 1 review, and we summarized their findings and applicability to our research question. Very few studies associated use of the patient portal, or its features, to improved outcomes; 37% (10/27) of papers reported improvements in medication adherence, disease awareness, self-management of disease, a decrease of office …

What can patients see in an online patient portal?

Jun 24, 2019 · The study focused on patients with diabetes who were members of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, about 160,000 patients; 77% had additional medical problems and about a quarter made use of the patient portal. [1] Patients with access to the portal increased their office visits by 21%. This was true for both patients with multiple ...

Is secure patient portal legit?

That's why we offer the Secure Patient Portal so you can access your health information anytime. The Secure Patient Portal is a safe and easy way for your doctor or clinic to electronically share your healthcare information with you.

What is the purpose of 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.

Can patient portals be hacked?

Unfortunately, what makes your patient portal valuable for patients is exactly what makes it attractive to cybercriminals. It's a one-stop shop for entire health records, and identity thieves can make a fast buck from stealing this data and selling it on.

Who has the best patient portal?

Healthcare IT rating agency KLAS recently selected athenahealth's athenaCommunicator as the #1 patient portal, with a score of 91.8 on the most recent Best in KLAS awards . athenahealth's suite was also ranked #2 overall for practice sizes from 1-75 physicians.

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.

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.

What can someone do with my MRN?

Medical identity theft is when someone uses your personal information — like your name, Social Security number, health insurance account number or Medicare number — to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, buy medical devices, submit claims with your insurance provider, or get other medical care.

How do you know if your medical records have been hacked?

The first sign of medical identity theft may come in a bill for medical services you did not receive or in a phone call or letter from a debt collector inquiring about a medical debt that's not yours. Other signs include an unfamiliar medical collection notice on your credit report or mistakes in your medical record.

Why do hackers want medical records?

Medical records typically include a patient's name, date of birth, address, preferred GP, medical history, employment history, and prescription information. Thieves can use this data to create false identities, commit health insurance fraud and illegally obtain prescription drugs or medical equipment.

How common are patient portals?

Nearly 40 percent of individuals nationwide accessed a patient portal in 2020 – this represents a 13 percentage point increase since 2014. The proportion of individuals who were offered and accessed a patient portal did not increase between 2019 and 2020.

What types of patient portals are there?

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 is the difference between EHR and EMR?

Although some clinicians use the terms EHR and EMR interchangeably, the benefits they offer vary greatly. An EMR (electronic medical record) is a digital version of a chart with patient information stored in a computer and an EHR (electronic health record) is a digital record of health information.

Why are portals important?

Portals acted as buffers between a patient’s desire for 24-hour access and physicians’ desires for a work-life balance. And while ED visits and hospitalizations are one measure of wellness, it is not clear whether portals improve patient health; to the extent that the foster improved communication, they provide a benefit. ...

What is meaningful use?

Meaningful use refers to not just having electronic health records (EHR), but using them in a useful way for patients. And while getting the various EHRs to talk to one another seems not to have been considered meaningful, EHRs have implemented patient portals – a means for patients to e-communicate with their physicians ...

What is EHR portal?

Electronic health records (EHR) now include patient portals where patients can obtain clinical reports, including notes, radiology reports, and laboratory/anatomic pathology results. Although portals increase patient access to information, no guidelines have been developed for hospitals about appropriate delays in posting different types ...

What is EHR in healthcare?

The nationally mandated use of electronic health records (EHR) has resulted in both new opportunities and challenges regarding patients’ access to their clinical information. In this era of online patient portals, not only can patients look up their upcoming appointments or request medication refills, they can also see results of clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology testing. While patients have a right to know the contents of their health record, ethical and clinical concerns arise about the timing of results’ availability and potential harms stemming from early access to results without a clinician to help interpret and contextualize those results. Currently, access to results and the timeframe in which they become available vary among institutions [1]. Benefits of access must be weighed against the risks of patients’ possible misinterpretation of results and the emotional sequelae and stress that could occur when patients learn of abnormal results without adequate clinical guidance.

What is anatomic pathology?

Anatomic pathology reports contain technical clinical terminology and are written for physicians’ levels of health literacy. In some cases, the information can be beyond the scope of understanding for even a primary care physician and might require access to a specific specialty literature or a conversation with a pathologist or oncologist to be adequately integrated and understood. Ideally, a patient would receive such results from a clinician, via phone or in person, when emotional support and additional information can be provided in real time. Receiving diagnoses via an electronic portal could become the new norm if physicians fail to personally connect with patients about results. Electronic disclosures can be ethically and clinically problematic, as patients can have many questions and fears. One of the primary duties of a physician, therefore, is not only to alert patients to abnormal results, but also to educate them on their conditions and apprise them of follow-up that will be needed for treatment.

Why is EHR important?

An important goal of EHR is to have a record that is easily accessed at any medical center for any patient. Access to laboratory values could allow patients to get second opinions more easily. Having results available to other physicians might minimize unnecessary test duplication [6].

What is the purpose of HLA?

The only tests that are not reported to the patient portal at our institution are human leukocyte antigen (HLA) results, because these contain not only patient but also donor information; the primary clinical purpose of these tests is to assess transplant compatibility.

Is genetic testing sensitive?

Genetic testing. Genetic test results are considered particularly sensitive, especially from a privacy standpoint [7]. Genetic testing results can be upsetting or life changing, as in the case of Huntington’s disease, breast cancer, or a serious congenital condition. Results of genetic testing can also carry implications for people besides the patient, such as his or her children. Given these concerns about privacy, genetic testing is an area of medicine in which there has typically been a strong commitment to pre- and posttest counseling, which is often performed by a genetic counselor rather than a physician. Genetic testing is unique in that patients can receive information about conditions that might only develop later in life and conditions that might not develop at all. Interpretation of these results should be personalized, as they often depend on close scrutiny of family trees (pedigrees) in order to tailor the results to a given patient. Given this complexity, genetic results are particularly difficult for patients to understand without the availability of a genetic counselor, who could provide explanations.

Is electronic health records a future challenge?

The era of electronic health records and patients’ access to online, portal-mediated results is not a future challenge; it’s a current one. Access to electronically based health data provides patients with opportunities to be more actively engaged in their care. On the other hand, deciding the nature and timing of this access must take into consideration potential harms to patients that can arise from unexpected or potentially confusing results. Finally, in debating what is best for patients, it is incumbent on pathologists and all physicians to remember that patients are individuals with unique preferences that should be addressed as carefully and compassionately as possible.

Why is communication important in a physician?

As patients become more involved their own care , communication takes on a more important role in a patient-physician partnership. But, if not managed correctly, a practice’s inbox can add another layer of administrative burden, diverting precious time to spend with patients and become a contributing factor to physician burnout.

What is a remote clipboard?

The “remote clipboard option” has clinical and administrative value. Sending pre-visit forms that patients fill out at their convenience instead of in a waiting room means less reliance on memory when answering questions on prescriptions, allergies, chronic illness and family history.

Using Patient Portals to Promote Patient Communication

In this age of growing technology patients want and have begun to expect the convenience of communicating with their providers electronically. There are several ways to communicate with patients, some safer and more secure than others.

Operational Risks to Consider

What information will you make available to patients on the portal—not all information is useful, such as miscellaneous notes for internal communication; too much information may confuse patients and could reduce the effectiveness of this tool.

Resources

HealthIT.gov: Patient Engagement Playbook https://www.healthit.gov/playbook/pe/