patient portal prescription refills benefits

by Phoebe Nienow 3 min read

10 Benefits Of Patient Portals You Can’t Miss For Your …

11 hours ago  · Some patient portals also allow you to: Securely message your doctor; Request prescription refills; Schedule non-urgent appointments; Check benefits and coverage; Update contact information; Make payments; Download and complete forms; View educational materials; With your patient portal, you can be in control of your health and care. >> Go To The Portal


Primary Benefits

  • Rapid Growth. More and more health care providers have introduced their own patient portals as the medical industry has shifted focus toward patient-centered care.
  • Increased Office Efficiency. ...
  • Streamlined Workflow. ...
  • Promotion of Telemedicine. ...
  • Fewer Medical Errors. ...
  • Other Benefits. ...

Getting refills is much easier. Instead of having to call your office or a pharmacist whenever they need a refill, your patients can request one online. Patients and providers can end up saving precious time when patients can request their own refills online rather than having to call into the office to request one.

Full Answer

Why should I use the portal for patient appointments?

This ability for patients to request appointments, referrals, and prescription refills directly from the portal increases the efficiency of your clinical staff, allowing them to keep their focus on assisting you with the patients who have the most urgent care needs and questions.

Why choose Benefis for your patient portal?

Your time is valuable, so we help make taking care of your health a little easier. Benefis offers two easy-to-use patient portals for office visits and hospital stays. Our portals allow you to access your health record anytime, from your computer or smartphone. Our portals are convenient, time-saving tools for managing your health.

Can you tell if a prescription has been filled by hand?

Once a physician gives a patient a handwritten prescription, there is no effective way to track whether the prescription was filled. Patients often forget to fill prescriptions, can’t afford the drug, lose the piece of paper, or start to feel better and decide not to take the medication.

How do I contact the patient portal help desk?

If you need assistance, call the Patient Portal Help Desk at (406) 455-5630, or complete a contact form.

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What are the advantages of patient portals?

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.Aug 13, 2020

Why is patient portal important in healthcare?

Engaging patients in the delivery of health care has the potential to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

Why are patient portals important and how do they benefit patients?

Patient portals provide the ability for patients to have 24-hour access to connect with their provider by reviewing patient health information (PHI), asking and answering questions, and reviewing notes, making the patient-physician relationship closer than ever.Dec 8, 2017

What are some advantages to a healthcare facility's use of the patient portal function?

4 benefits of patient portalsReduces incidence of no shows. One of the most significant benefits of patient portals is that they can drastically reduce the number of times that patients forget to attend appointments, Healthcare IT News detailed. ... Improves patient engagement. ... More efficient. ... Improved communication.Jul 9, 2016

What should be in a patient 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.More items...

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

Are patient portals good?

As of 2016, 92% of hospitals in the U.S. had patient portals set up, and with good reason. A review of studies in 2012, before the surge in patient portals, found that those patients who utilized the portals had better adherence to treatment plans and were less likely to visit their doctor for small issues.Jul 15, 2019

Are patient portals effective?

Patient portal interventions were overall effective in improving a few psychological outcomes, medication adherence, and preventive service use. There was insufficient evidence to support the use of patient portals to improve clinical outcomes.

Do patients 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 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

Which of the following is a benefit of patient portals quizlet?

The patient portal supports two-way communication, which allows the patient to work with physicians between patient visits, request appointments, and receive reminders. These reminders can be for appointments, need for follow-up, and more.

What are the disadvantages of accessing your health care online?

Con: Online Health Research Can Lead to Unnecessary Anxiety Your increased anxiety might worsen your pain and other symptoms. It's easy to assume the worst when you check your symptoms online, but don't panic if your symptoms align with a serious condition. Instead, seek appropriate medical care.Dec 5, 2017

Why use a patient portal?

Using a patient portal enables you to give appointment and payment reminders as well as schedule annual checkups with your patients. This helps preserve time by automating the scheduling process and ensure patients are kept in the loop.

Why do we need portals?

Portals give patients more chances to connect with their doctors, transforming the patient-physician relationship closer than ever. This type of bi-directional messaging among patients and doctors can increase patient engagement and satisfaction. Patients involved in an ongoing conversation with their doctors are more likely to take ownership of their health.

How does secure messaging help patients?

Ongoing communications by secure messaging can also build strong bonds between patients and doctors, making patients desire to return to the same doctor for future care. Building patient loyalty has clear benefits for doctors while promoting flexibility of care and making the patient feel more satisfied and valuedM. The continuous relationship and communication that happens outside of appointments inspire patients to feel cared for and to remain loyal to your practice.

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals provide the ability for patients to have 24-hour access to connect with their provider by reviewing patient health information (PHI), asking and answering questions, and reviewing notes, making the patient-physician relationship closer than ever.

Why do patients use portals?

This ability for patients to request appointments, referrals, and prescription refills directly from the portal increases the efficiency of your clinical staff, allowing them to keep their focus on assisting you with the patients who have the most urgent care needs and questions.

What are the benefits of cloud based patient portals?

As you can see, there are a host of benefits medical providers can take advantage of by using cloud based patient portals Better communication, elimination of paperwork, unrestricted electronic access, better relationships, improved outcomes, and an optimized workflow – all of these benefits can be achieved with one piece of technology.

Overview

Patient portals improve the way in which patients and health care providers interact. A product of meaningful use requirements, they were mandated as a way to provide patients with timely access to their health care. Specifically, patient portals give patients access to their health information to take a more active role.

Primary Benefits

No matter the type of platform you choose, your patient portal can provide your patients with secure online access to their medical details and increase their engagement with your practice. And not to mention that it does so while providing several benefits for health care providers as well. Some of these benefits include:

Notable Challenges

While many people have used a patient portal by now, they have mixed reviews at best. As you can see in the section above, there are plenty of benefits that patient portals provide. But unfortunately, their potential has yet to be fully harnessed.

Emerging Trends

If patient portals are a mixed bag, why should the patient portal receive greater consideration in the EHR, EMR and practice management selection processes? Because when you look at current industry trends, patient portals are well on their way to improving. Some of these trends include:

How to Use a Patient Portal

With patient portals, the first and foremost thing you will need is a computer and a working internet connection. Create a customized user’s account in the software to avail medical services on your own. Once you enter the patient portal, click on links and products sold by the provider and tap into a new experience.

Solution Evaluation

Now that you know what a patient portal is and given the potential and growing importance, how should you evaluate the best portal for your practice or facility? You can select a standalone patient portal that a third-party vendor commonly hosts through the cloud as a health care provider.

Final Thoughts

It’s clear that using a patient portal software can provide several benefits for your medical practice. After accounting for these nine considerations, you should be ready to start using a patient portal. The only decision left to make is which platform you’ll use.

RX Refill Features

Save your staff hours of work each day to support your practice in more valuable ways. Give patients the ability to request medication refills online from any device at any time with automated Rx refill request software. Boost patient satisfaction by reducing calls and decreasing the turnaround time to process requests.

A patient engagement platform for the future of healthcare

Secure, 2015 Edition ONC certified, HIPAA compliant and mobile-ready patient portal software.

FAQ's

This is a configuration in the Bridge platform. More often than not, clients choose a configuration that only allows patients to request refills on active medication.

How to get your test results?

Get your test results. Review your discharge instructions. Update your personal information, such as your emergency contact. Download the How to Guide and FAQ documentation. Go to Hospital Stay Portal Hospital Stay Portal (Text Version) If you need assistance, call the Patient Portal Help Desk at (406) 455-5630, or complete a contact form.

Does Benefis have portals?

Your time is valuable, so we help make taking care of your health a little easier. Benefis offers two easy-to-use patient portals for office visits and hospital stays. Our portals allow you to access your health record anytime, from your computer or smartphone.

When did PHMG start patient portal?

PHMG launched the patient portal in early 2010. As a first step, the physician champion piloted the portal for about 6 months before it was implemented in one clinic at a time. According to the physician champion, implementation was “easier than expected because everyone was already comfortable with eClinicalWorks, ...

Why is it persuasive to use a portal?

They found that it is particularly persuasive when providers encourage patients to use the portal because patients trust providers and value their opinions. One provider says he reinforces a patient’s use of the portal by closing all messages with “Thanks for using the portal.”.

What are the challenges of the portal?

One major challenge with the portal is the multiple step registration process . Patients provide their e‐mail address at the front desk and are given a password to register from home. Some patients fail to complete the registration process after leaving the clinic. Remembering and managing passwords and managing family accounts are also challenging for patients. For example, a parent may log in for one child and then ask questions about a second child. For providers and staff, a challenge is that there is no way to know whether a Web‐enabled patient actually uses the portal and there are no read receipts to confirm that patients have read a message.

Why is Qualis important?

Qualis has also been an important resource for information about the meaningful use rules. "We felt strongly that from a quality standpoint we could not succeed without going to electronic health records. I felt very strongly we had to invest in it because it would positively affect every patient that we encounter.".

When did PHMG implement EHR?

In 2007 PHMG implemented an EHR system, eClinicalWorks, as part of a strategy to improve quality of care and facilitate coordination of care across its multiple clinic locations. In preparing for implementation, PHMG proceeded with:

Where do messages go in a family practice?

For family practice, messages generally go right to the provider. For specialists, who tend to be out of the office more often, messages go to the nurses or other staff for triage. To facilitate communication, PHMG developed a template for common messages, such as delivery of lab results.

Does PHMG send spam?

Some patients were concerned that PHMG would send them spam. When providers and staff tell patients about the portal, they assure them that the portal will only be used to respond to the patient’s message and to share important health information such as the clinical summaries.

What are the benefits of e-prescribing?

The DEA’s policy shift has prompted physicians and patients to realize some key benefits of e-prescribing: 1. Prevents prescription drug errors. E-Prescribing software eliminates handwriting errors/illegibility and gives both physician and pharmacist access to a patient’s prescription history to reduce the chance of the wrong drug being dispensed.

What does e-prescription do?

E-Prescribing gives physicians full visibility into all of a patient’s documented allergies and previously prescribed drugs and will trigger clinical alerts if a newly prescribed drug has any potential for negative reactions.

What is EPCS Gold?

E-Prescribing software such as EPCS Gold enables providers to seamlessly send electronic prescriptions for controlled substances to retail or mail-order pharmacies within the same workflow used to e-prescribe legend drugs. It makes your workflow more efficient, supports medication adherence, and increases convenience for patients.

How many prescriptions are transmitted electronically?

Over 70 percent of U.S. physicians have transmitted at least one prescription electronically, up from virtually zero physicians in 2007, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

What are the requirements for electronic prescriptions?

4. Helps meet meaningful use requirements for electronic prescriptions 1 Stage 1 of meaningful use requires that 40 percent of prescriptions be sent electronically. 2 Stage 2 requires that more than 50 percent be sent electronically. 3 Stage 3 requires that 80 percent be sent electronically.

Why is e-prescribing important?

Enables better monitoring of controlled substance prescriptions. With e-prescribing, physicians can track how many controlled substance prescriptions a patient has received , reducing the likelihood of over-prescribing or doctor shopping. It’s also easier for states to track this data across multiple pharmacies.

Why do we use e-prescription tools?

E-Prescribing tools make it easier to choose formulary medications that will be covered by the patient’s drug benefit. Prescribing a drug the patient can afford makes it more likely that the patient will fill it and take it.

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Better Patient Communication

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Patients are able to utilize the portal to accomplish tasks that would normally require a phone call, or even multiple phone calls. This ability for patients to request appointments, referrals, and prescription refills directly from the portal increases the efficiency of your clinical staff, allowing them to keep their focus on assistin…
See more on micromd.com

Streamline Patient Registration and Administrative Tasks

  • Patient portals allow registration forms to be completed electronically prior to appointment check-in, keeping front-office work efficient. This means that instead of walking patients through which forms to fill out and how, your front office staff can instead focus on the patient in front of them and any questions they may need answered, ensuring that by the time the patient reaches you th…
See more on micromd.com

Greater Focus on Patient Care

  • The ability to easily access and share patient information electronically eases one of the main distractions on physicians’ time today. Instead of focusing on finding what you need in the patient’s chart or figuring out how you’ll get those records to the provider you’re referring your patient to, you can focus solely on providing a higher standard of care, which is why you becam…
See more on micromd.com

Overview

  • Patient portals improve the way in which patients and health care providers interact. A product of meaningful userequirements, they were mandated as a way to provide patients with timely access to their health care. Specifically, patient portals give patients access to their health information to take a more active role. There are two main types of patient portals: a standalone system and a…
See more on selecthub.com

Primary Benefits

  • No matter the type of platform you choose, your patient portal can provide your patients with secure online access to their medical details and increase their engagement with your practice. And not to mention that it does so while providing several benefits for health care providers as well. Some of these benefits include:
See more on selecthub.com

Notable Challenges

  • While many people have used a patient portal by now, they have mixed reviews at best. As you can see in the section above, there are plenty of benefits that patient portals provide. But unfortunately, their potential has yet to be fully harnessed. Some patient portals are hard to access, poorly designed, cumbersome to navigate and limited in utility. These downfalls make it …
See more on selecthub.com

Emerging Trends

  • If patient portals are a mixed bag, why should the patient portal receive greater consideration in the EHR, EMR and practice management selection processes? Because when you look at current health care technology trends, patient portals are well on their way to improving. Some of these trends include:
See more on selecthub.com

How to Use A Patient Portal

  • With patient portals, the first and foremost thing you will need is a computer and a working internet connection. Create a customized user’s account in the software to avail medical services on your own. Once you enter the patient portal, click on links and products sold by the provider and tap into a new experience. Set up the portal according to your needs and receive messages, …
See more on selecthub.com

Solution Evaluation

  • Now that you know what a patient portal is and given the potential and growing importance, how should you evaluate the best portal for your practice or facility? You can select a standalone patient portal that a third-party vendor commonly hosts through the cloud as a health care provider. This approach can result in incompatibility issues with your EMR and/or EHR system, r…
See more on selecthub.com

Final Thoughts

  • It’s clear that using patient portal software can provide several benefits for your medical practice. After accounting for these considerations, you should be ready to start using a patient portal. The only decision left to make is which platform you’ll use. Consider taking a look at our Top Medical Software Comparison or build your own requirements checklistto give yourself an idea of what t…
See more on selecthub.com