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

by Cleveland Schmidt 8 min read

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

13 hours ago Jul 22, 2019 · The benefits of patient portals are many, but here’s some of the ones you need to be aware of. 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. Patient portals improve communication. Messaging through a patient portal makes communication … >> Go To The Portal


Of patient portal benefits and challenges, however, probably the biggest concern is the security of a patient’s sensitive medical data. 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 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

Full Answer

What do you need to know about patient portal implementation?

Jul 22, 2019 · The benefits of patient portals are many, but here’s some of the ones you need to be aware of. 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. Patient portals improve communication. Messaging through a patient portal makes communication …

What are the barriers to patient portal implementation?

Oct 01, 2017 · With secure e-mail messaging through patient portals, patients can quickly report adverse effects or dose adjustments, which may be beneficial when the physician’s office is closed. For example, a patient receiving capecitabine (Xeloda—Genentech) for treatment of metastatic breast cancer may experience hand and foot syndrome, a common adverse effect.

Do patient portals improve patient adherence to treatment plans?

Sep 19, 2017 · Patient Portal Benefits Patient Care and Provider Workflow; Patient Portal Implementation Improves Quality of Patient Care and Strengthens Preventive Care; Patient Portal Increases Communication Between Patients and Providers; Pediatric Clinic Uses EHR to Automatically Generate Clinical Quality Reports; Quality Improvement in a Primary Care Practice

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What are the benefits of the patient portal?

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

What are the challenges of patient portals?

Patient portals are secure websites that give people access to their personal health information from anywhere, at any time.
...
Table of Contents
  • Getting Patients to Opt-In.
  • Security Concerns.
  • User Confusion.
  • Alienation and Health Disparities.
  • Extra Work for the Provider.
  • Conclusion.
Nov 11, 2021

What are the advantages of patient portals to the patient and to the healthcare facility?

Hospitals and other health care organizations can facilitate patient access to their EMR information through patient portals. Patient portals can provide secure, online access to personal health information [1] such as medication lists, laboratory results, immunizations, allergies, and discharge information [2].

Are there any drawbacks to the patient or provider when using a patient portal?

Patient portals pose many security concerns for data, as they may be a potential place for healthcare information hackers or data thieves to access a patient's health data.Nov 11, 2021

What are the top barriers to patient portal adoption use?

These barriers included lack of eHealth literacy. This can be due to the diversity of the patient population because it will include immigrants, older patients, and people with limited literacy skills. These specific groups may experience difficulty using a portal.

Do patient portals improve healthcare?

For healthcare providers, components of patient portals enable them to improve patient care safety, improve efficiency and engagement, educate their patients and prepare them for future care encounters, reduce the need for phone conversations and other administrative tasks, quickly deliver test results, gauge the ...Dec 8, 2021

What are the advantages of patient portals to the patient and to the healthcare facility 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 personal health records?

Are there drawbacks to PHRs? Building a complete health record takes some time. You have to collect and enter all your health information. Only a minority of doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurance companies can send information electronically to a PHR that isn't part of a patient portal.

Can you think of any potential disadvantages of patients using the patient portal system within the EHR justify your answer?

One con to keep in mind with patient portals is that some patients may not have much experience with computers, preventing them from getting the most out of it. Another drawback is the potential for data breaches, so you'll need to work with a vendor that provides robust, secure EHR software.May 23, 2017

Why is it important to establish patient ownership of the healthcare record?

By maintaining a PHR patients can ensure that the information contained in their health record is accurate, updated, and inclusive. Patients can provide more accurate medical history information to their doctors and share important health tracking information from their online health journal and home health devices.

What are the benefits to having one patient one record?

Researchers can use the data in Epic to track patient outcomes, study disease prevalence and trends, and improve care.Oct 23, 2017

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals are secure websites that help patients access their health information at their convenience. Many patient portals are mobile enabled via a web-based platform and are therefore considered a form of mHealth. Patient-focused mHealth apps—software or programs stored directly on the mobile device—can provide an opportunity ...

What is mobile health?

Mobile health (mHealth) is a means of providing health services or information via portals or applications (apps) on wireless devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Patient portals are secure websites that help patients access their health information at their convenience. Many patient portals are mobile enabled via a web-based platform ...

What is mHealth communication?

Communication generally takes the form of secure messaging such as live chat or e-mail among patients and providers , including primary care and specialist physicians, pharmacists, and many others.

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.

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, ...

Is the portal easy to use?

It’s really very easy to use. If you use the Internet, you’ll most likely find the portal helpful and easy to navigate. They found that it is particularly persuasive when providers encourage patients to use the portal because patients trust providers and value their opinions.

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:

What is the PHMG strategy?

PHMG had a strategy of ensuring that patients hear about the portal from multiple sources during each clinical visit. To execute this strategy, PHMG used several methods of communication, including:

What are the benefits of patient portals?

One of the clearest benefits to a patient portal is the added ability for communication between patients and providers, and these benefits are felt strongest with regard to chronically ill patients.

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals, generally speaking, are a health IT interface on which patients can view their own protected health information (PHI). Although this can be viewed as a good thing because patients do have the right to see their own health data, it also opens doors for security concerns.

Is a patient portal good?

Although this can be viewed as a good thing because patients do have the right to see their own health data, it also opens doors for security concerns. A patient portal may be just one more place for a potential hacker or healthcare data thief to access a patient’s data, leaving that patient liable to identity theft.

Can a patient portal be hacked?

A patient portal may be just one more place for a potential hacker or healthcare data thief to access a patient’s data, leaving that patient liable to identity theft. However, with appropriate safeguards, these concerns can be kept at a minimum.

What is portal email?

The portal is just a secure e-mail system that we can use to communicate. You can send me a message and it goes right into your chart, so I have all of your information at hand when I read it and respond. If you use it and don’t like it, you don’t have to continue to use it. Just let us know.

Why are reminders important?

Reminders from providers, and the capability for patients to discuss issues with their physicians, help increase patient engagement and therefore play a role in boosting the patient’s overall health.

How to get the most value from an EHR?

To get the most value from an EHR, practices will need to invest time in training and preparation. Some customization of the system will likely be needed based on how the practice functions and the individual work styles of the various providers.

How long does it take for a nurse to respond to a patient?

The practice established standards for response times of within 4 hours for more urgent questions to 2 days for prescription refills

When did Dover Family Physicians adopt EHR?

Dover Family Physicians adopted an electronic health record (EHR) system in 2008 with a goal of improving the quality of patient care and especially strengthening preventive care services. The practice has focused on ways to use the EHR to engage patients and their family members in their health and healthcare through a patient portal implementation. The practice, located in Dover, Delaware, has four physicians and two physician assistants, and provides primary care to more than 800 patients weekly.

Why is engaging patients important?

Engaged patients have better health outcomes, are more satisfied with their care, and are more likely to return to the organization in the future. Educational content hosted on patient portals can make it easier for patients to take a more active role in their care.

Why is patient engagement important?

Engaged patients have better health outcomes, are more satisfied with their care, and are more likely to return to the organization in the future. Educational content hosted on patient portals can make it easier for patients to take a more active role ...

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