patient portal usage encounters

What information can be accessed through a patient portal?

The features of patient portals may vary, but typically you can securely view and print portions of your medical record, including recent doctor visits, discharge summaries, medications, immunizations, allergies, and most lab results anytime and from anywhere you have Web access.

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.

What are patient portals used for?

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.

How effective are patient portals?

While the evidence is currently immature, patient portals have demonstrated benefit by enabling the discovery of medical errors, improving adherence to medications, and providing patient-provider communication, etc. High-quality studies are needed to fully understand, improve, and evaluate their impact.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

About one-quarter of individuals who did not view their patient portal within the past year reported concerns about privacy and security.. About 20 percent of individuals indicated the reason they did not access their patient portal was because they were uncomfortable with computers.

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.

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.

Do patients like patient portals?

Eight studies reported that patients or their caregivers want more portal education, training, or support. Two studies found that their participants want human connection as they learn about the portal and how to use it, as well as when they encounter issues.

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.

How do patient portals improve patient engagement?

Patient portals have demonstrated benefit by improving adherence to medications and providing patient-provider communication. They may reduce in-person and emergency department visits, facilitate patient discovery of errors in electronic medical records (EMRs) and reduce the cost of care.

How do patient portals contribute to patient centered care?

Further, portals help providers educate their patients and prepare them for future care encounters. When patients have access to their health data, they are better informed, and have the potential to generate deep and meaningful conversations regarding patient wellness during doctor's appointments.

How much time does a patient spend in a telemedicine visit?

American patients spend an average of 2 hours, including travel and wait time, for a 20-minute office visit, totaling $50 billion in opportunity costs. Real-time patient-provider video and telephone telemedicine visits are an interactive health information technology (IT) tool with the potential to engage patients. Telemedicine can offer patients the choice to access a provider visit without arranging transportation, time off from work or caregiving, or spending time in a waiting room. While patient-physician telemedicine has historically been used in narrow clinical situations such as specialty consultations or rural patients, direct real-time patient-physician video visits for a broad patient population has only recently become feasible. Because of this, there is a wide evidence gap on the quality and safety of telemedicine use in ambulatory care, including missed diagnoses and screenings, medication errors, and insufficient patient monitoring.

How is telemedicine used in primary care?

Telemedicine has long been used to provide access to specialty care, especially for patients living in rural areas, but its use to benefit primary care patients is less understood . In addition, little is known about its impact on quality and safety, such as on diagnoses, medications, or patient monitoring.

Is there a gap in telemedicine?

Because of this, there is a wide evidence gap on the quality and safety of telemedicine use in ambulatory care, including missed diagnoses and screenings, medication errors, and insufficient patient monitoring.

How do patient portals help?

Patient portals are digital health tools that provide patients with convenient, secure access to personal health information (such as laboratory results and medication lists), resources, and services such as appointment scheduling and secure messaging with providers. Patient portals have the potential to improve patient engagement with health and health care, decrease costs, and increase health care quality by facilitating health care system transactions (e.g., prescription refills), supporting patient-provider communication, and expediting access to medical records and relevant educational materials. Research indicates that patient portal use can increase patients’ understanding of their health conditions, improve patient safety, reduce caregiver burden, increase medication adherence, and improve the quality of both preventive and follow-up care. There is also some evidence to suggest that patient portal use can improve clinical outcomes.As a result of substantial investments in telehealth infrastructure and legislation mandating meaningful use of electronic health records, by 2015 most health care organizations in the United States offered patient portals. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased reliance on technologies like patient portals to facilitate virtual visits, remote monitoring, and electronic communication with providers. However, by making these technologies more central to care, the pandemic has also highlighted the inequalities that exist in their use.

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a digital tool that enables patients to securely access their medical records and interact with the health care system through the internet.

What is the medical admission for cancer?

Medical admissions for cancer patients are usually associated with investigating the origin and cause of disease, or evaluating chemo or radiation treatments, compared to surgical admissions that involve typical procedural routines and surgical recovery that may fully occupy the patient’s time in the hospital [ 73 ].

How does information technology improve patient safety?

Several studies have assumed that information technology systems have the potential to improve patient safety by identifying errors in medications and preventing adverse drug reactions. Yet, limited evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of a portal as a tool in reducing adverse events. One recent study by Kelly et al. found that 8% of parents with hospitalized children recognized errors in their child’s medication list after using an inpatient portal application [ 46 ]. Further optimistic views about the ability of portals to reduce errors were derived from patient participation in care, where patients could notify clinicians of their medication allergies, unexpected toxicity symptoms, and lapses in care to prevent adverse events [ 50, 75 – 77 ]. Among surgical inpatients who were portal users, postoperative infection was their most frequent ICD-9 code, suggesting that experiencing a safety-event may activate patients to follow up their personal health information to avoid further complications [ 63 ]. In contrast to this evidence, our study did not find an association between portal adoption or use and adverse events. Likewise, a randomized controlled trial by Weingart et al. did not find sufficient evidence to support an association between adverse drug events and portal use [ 51 ]. Earlier research reported that patient history evaluation in cancer care is more focused, providing the patient an opportunity to recall medical and medication information to prevent errors. [ 78, 79] In addition, most adverse events at hospitals are underreported and the events in our data were limited to those reported by providers. A new initiative within the portal that is gaining popularity and has the potential to prevent errors is the OpenNotes national movement, which invites patients to read their clinicians’ notes online and report back errors or safety concerns that, in turn, may avert mistakes from happening [ 80, 81 ]. Hence, it opens up a new possibility to engage patients as safety partners through their reported documentation errors.

What is MCF in medical?

The site of the study was Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida (MCF), a large nonprofit, special ized tertiary care practice and medical research center with more than 1.3 million domestic and international patients seen each year. Physicians are salaried, not linked to care volume, thus reducing monetary incentives in patient treatment. MCF contracted with Cerner Solutions (Cerner Corp) to implement the patient portal and integrate it with the system-wide electronic health record in 2010. When patients schedule an appointment at MCF, they are invited to register for a portal account and are provided with information on why and how to register. With each appointment reminder, patients receive a reminder message to register for the portal. Portal invitations are also offered in all outpatient waiting areas and displayed on electronic screens around the clinic.

When was the Health Services Model developed?

The model was initially developed in 1968 to understand health services use and later revised to include consumer satisfaction and dimensions of health status [ 54 ]. Shortly after the model was developed, health services use was portrayed as a health behavior influenced by multiple factors [ 55 ].

Where was the retrospective review of 4594 cancer patients conducted?

A retrospective review of 4594 adult hospitalized cancer patients was conducted between 2012 and 2014 at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, comparing portal adopters, who registered for a portal account prior to hospitalization, with nonadopters. Adopters were classified by their portal activity during hospitalization as active or inactive inpatient users. Univariate and several logistic and linear regression models were used for analysis.

Is portal use inpatient or outpatient?

Portal use has been studied among outpatients, but its utility and impact on inpatients is unclear. This study describes portal adoption and use among hospitalized cancer patients and investigates associations with selected safety, utilization, and satisfaction measures.