Why Patients Need their Patient Portal

There are many factors that contribute to whether or not a patient is receiving quality care from their healthcare provider. These factors include the provider and all the work they put into making sure their patient is taken care of, the tests/labs and prescriptions that work in collaboration with the provider, and then there is the patient.

The patient plays a very important role in the outcome of their health. In fact, patient engagement is one of the largest factors that contributes to successful health outcomes. Tools that increase patient engagement are integral to ensuring the patient stays involved with their provider. Tools for patient engagement include the mobile app, telehealth, chronic care management, the patient portal and many more. 

The patient portal is arguably one of the most important tools for patient engagement. The patient portal helps build connections and understanding between patients and their provider and also make healthcare easy and accessible for a patient. Patients need their providers to offer them a patient portal, due to a variety of reasons that benefit them.

1)    Increased Communication

The flow of communication between patients and their providers is an important part of the health care dynamic. Patients who feel that they are able to freely and openly communicate with their physicians are more likely to ask questions or reach out to their provider for help when they need it. The patient portal is the tool that most patients utilize to quickly access their provider for seemingly unimportant issues. These issues can be assessed by their provider, who can then really decide whether it is an urgent situation or not. This bridges the gap in communication that has existed for years between providers and their patients. The patient portal is designed to connect everyone.

2)    Better Understanding

An assumption and misunderstanding that still exists in the medical field is that personal health information is difficult to access. This is no longer the case. The patient portal has made it possible for patients to have an increased understanding of their personal health information. Personal health records used to take weeks, if not months, to get in hand. Then trying to understand those documents is a process in and of itself. Now patients can simply view their personal health record online via the patient portal, and then message their physician with questions and concerns. This elevated understanding of their own health helps them stay engaged and active in their health. This increase in patient engagement improves their health outcomes and accountability, improving the quality of their health. No longer do patients put off understanding where they stand in their health.

3)    Scheduling Assistance

An issue that patients are constantly facing is staying on top of their appointments. This is not always on purpose or intentional that patients are not showing up, but it is happening more than it should. Patients who are making appointments are subject to forgetfulness. The patient portal combats this forgetfulness by sending reminders to patients and making sure they are remembering any appointments they need to get to. For the patient who forgets to set appointments entirely, they are sent reminders about annual appointments or checkups that need to be scheduled within the next month or so. This helps to keep the forgetful patient accountable and on track with their healthcare. With a patient portal, even forgetful patients can remember their appointments in a busy, on-the-go world, reducing lateness and even no-shows.

4)    Increased Patient Engagement

Both increased communication and a better understanding of their personal health records through the patient portal can enable a patient to play a more active role in their personal care. When a patient has the ability to actively check on, assess, discuss, and comprehend their health record as well as communicate with their physician, schedule appointments and stay on top of check-ups, something amazing happens. All of these characteristics of a patient portal work together to produce patients who care about how healthy they are. Patient engagement skyrockets when patients partner with their physician and stay involved in their care. Hand-in-hand, providers and patients can work together to make sure that the patient understands what is going on in regards to their health. Together they can formulate a plan geared to that patient’s overall well-being.

When physicians research the tools they need for their practice, a patient portal should be at the top of the list. A patient portal not only increases communication between a doctor and his or her patients but also improves patient behaviors which can ultimately save the lives of many patients throughout the nation.

Interested in a patient portal for your practice? Contact us to find out more or request a free demo from our Product Specialists.