Patient Portals: An Open Door For Patient Engagement

The healthcare industry’s perspective towards patient engagement has changed drastically. Data compiled two years ago suggests that patient engagement through a portal was a big issue as there was very low portal utilization by both patients and practices. The study surveyed a random sample of 1,540 U.S. patients and resulted in the following information:

• Only a 1/3 of patients surveyed had access to a patient portal; whereas the remaining 2/3 either do not have access or are unsure.
• The most requested patient portal features are appointment scheduling, checking lab results, and requesting prescriptions/refills.
• The prominent items of frustration with patient portals are unresponsive staff (34%) and poor interfaces (33%).

In a more recent study in 2017, patient access to health data was more widespread across the industry, with 80% of patients using the patient portal and 90% of patients obtaining record copies free of charge. Patient portal and health technology use truly emerged in the industry following the 2009 HITECH Act. As per the survey, now 82% of patients agreed to the fact that they have logged into their patient portal at least once (a night and day difference compared to a similar survey in 2013 where only 5% of patients had access to their patient portal, and drastically improved from the previous year). The top requested features seem to be consistent throughout the years. Several EHR vendors offer the ability to request for an appointment, review labs, and request a refill in addition to attempting to improve the user interface and adapting to a more intuitive environment. As more practices tend to adopt an EHR solution that offers patient portals, the staff are becoming more responsive to the needs of their patients.

The studies show that the vast majority of patients demand access to their health information online. By raising awareness regarding patient portal use, a practice can increase patient engagement and reduce data entry and wait times. Patients are now accessing their patient portal to manage several tasks like scheduling an appointment, request a refill, and access their health data. The portal provides a platform for patients to be more engaged in their care while directly sharing information with their providers. Patient engagement provides several benefits for any practice and the best means to an end is by logging into your patient portal. It is essential for the success of the practice to evaluate their EHR vendor's current patient portal offering and if it aligns with their goals of patient engagement and overall efficiency. 

Source: http://blog.omnimd.com/blog/patient-portals-an-open-door-for-patient-engagement