purpose of the patient portal

by Rosetta Shields 9 min read

What is a patient portal? | HealthIT.gov

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


(ONC)

  • Better Patient Communication. Patients are able to utilize the portal to accomplish tasks that would normally require a phone call, or even multiple phone calls.
  • Streamline Patient Registration and Administrative Tasks. ...
  • Greater Focus on Patient Care. ...
  • Better Patient-Physician Relationships. ...
  • Improve Clinical Outcomes. ...
  • Optimize Medical Office Workflow. ...

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.Sep 29, 2017

Full Answer

How do you set up a patient portal?

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

What is a patient portal and why is it useful?

Dec 02, 2021 · 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.

What are the advantages of patient portal?

Apr 01, 2022 · 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. Many providers now offer patient portals. For access, you will need to set up an account.

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

Aug 20, 2018 · The patient portal makes it possible for patients to schedule their doctor appointments online whenever they have time. The patient portal also allows patients to complete documentation and update their information from their computer before the appointment.

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What are the advantages of using a patient portal?

Portals can increase patient loyalty. The ongoing relationship and communication that occurs outside of appointments encourages patients to feel cared for and to remain loyal to your practice. Increase your value. Patients value the easy access to information and direct communication that comes with portal use.

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 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 is the goal of hie?

The purpose of HIE is to promote the appropriate and secure access and retrieval of a patient's health information to improve the cost, quality, safety and speed of patient care.

How do patients feel about patient portals?

Patients experienced: They appreciate the direct communication with providers. They appreciate the ability to ask questions in-between visits and convenience of requesting medication and referrals online.Sep 19, 2017

What is portal message?

Portal messages are a secure, optional messaging tool built into the patient portal. Patient portal users can exchange messages with their pediatric practice, and the practice can receive and send portal messages with PCC EHR or pocketPCC.Jul 1, 2021

What is a patient portal How will the patient portal enhance the quality of care?

Background. 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 do some patients fail to participate in the use of the patient portal?

The reason why most patients do not want to use their patient portal is because they see no value in it, they are just not interested. The portals do not properly incentivize the patient either intellectually (providing enough data to prove useful) or financially.

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.

What are the benefits of a patient portal?

Expand Section. With a patient portal: You can access your secure personal health information and be in touch with your provider's office 24 hours a day . You do not need to wait for office hours or returned phone calls to have basic issues resolved. You can access all of your personal health information from all ...

How to access a patient portal?

With a patient portal: 1 You can access your secure personal health information and be in touch with your provider's office 24 hours a day. You do not need to wait for office hours or returned phone calls to have basic issues resolved. 2 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. This can lead to better care and better management of your medicines. 3 E-mail reminders and alerts help you to remember things like annual checkups and flu shots.

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.

What are the benefits of patient portals?

1. Patient portals are efficient. Patient portals allow you and your office staff to quickly deliver lab tests and confirm appointments without repeated phone calls. 2.

What is HIPAA privacy?

HIPAA privacy rules offer protections that grow with children. Parents have full access to their child’s account up to a certain age, at which point teens take control of their own health, often through a portal that makes this automatic.

What is meaningful use?

Meaningful use standards provide minimal criteria for securing and delivering electronic health records. Although the term “meaningful use” is now outdated, the ideas behind the term are not. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the goal of meaningful use standards are as follows:

Is patient portal safe?

Your office cannot simply set up a free website and expect patients to allow their medical data to be posted there! But good news: patient portals are safe.

What is the patient portal?

Entering the digital age of healthcare the patient portal is one of the top tools that patients and providers utilize on a daily basis. This is the online starting point for providers looking to increase patient engagement and for patients eager to stay informed on their personal health.

Why is patient portal important?

The first and one of the most important benefits of a patient portal is the increase in communication capability. In the past, patients have had to work hard to have their questions answered and their concerns addressed by their physician. Scheduling an in-person appointment or waiting for a phone call used to be the only way that patients could communicate with their healthcare provider. Now, the patient portal has made it possible for patients to quickly access their providers from their computer or mobile device. Patients can message their providers with non-urgent questions, concerns, and symptoms. Providers can then determine whether or not a patient should set an in-office visit, an e-visit, or suggest any next steps the patient should take. This open communication between patients and their providers helps to increase patient engagement and the number of better outcomes.

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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 o…
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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…
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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…
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