The use of patient portals in healthcare is helpful for a patient to interact with doctors or access their medical information. Lately, it was all through the only receptionist. But these days, they have revolutionized all of that. You must know many patient portal benefits, and today we are discussing them briefly so that you know their importance.
What Is Patient Portal And What Is Its Function
They are secure online websites that patients can access for their medical information without scheduling a phone call at any time. It’s basic function is to engage and educate patients in their own care, on their personal health and assist them in their treatment.
Although there may be problems with patient portals, basic features available on it:
- Direct patient-doctor communication via message
- History and records for medical treatment and procedures
- Short video appointments
- Prescription order options
- Setting and scheduling appointments
- Payments for bills
- Educational and informational content tailored to the patient
- Test results of lab and diagnostic centers
- Doctors visit summaries and doctors’ notes
- Immunization records
A secure login is required for a patient to access many things needed to manage healthcare.
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As of 2016, patient access to Portal and Health Data surges to 92% in the U.S.A. Also, a study found that patients who used the patient portals had better obedience to their prescribed treatments and didn’t visit their doctors for mere issues.
Although there are some medical care providers who had concerns about impartial access to portals and experienced an increase in their workload, most medical professionals agree that patients increase in preventative care and patients engaged with patients portal have better disease awareness.
The Benefits Of Patient Portals
There are many benefits a patient portal offers, but here are some we are listing below:
They Are Super-Efficient
Patient portals let you and your practice office staff deliver lab and diagnostic tests rapidly and confirm scheduled appointments without frequent phone calls.
Patient Portal And Patient Engagement
Messaging and communication through a patient portal are easier for both doctor and patient.
Store Health Information
So which information can be accessed through a patient portal? Depending on the level of the healthcare provider’s practice, a patient portal holds a health record of everything. It includes yearly expenditures on healthcare, prescriptions, lab test results, and diagnostics. Now doctors do not need to shuffle papers here and there to find old receipts or health records of patients.
Data Accuracy
There are a lot of patient portal benefits and challenges, and one of the challenges is data accuracy. As patients can access their medical records through the patient portal, it is convenient for them to spot and highlight if there is any inaccurate information record. They can bring it to the attention of their medical healthcare provider.
Make Prescriptions Refilling Easy
The majority of patient portals let patients refill their prescriptions with a single click of the mouse. There is no problem if a prescription is expired, too, and the patient portal helps patients send the doctor a request to refill or set up a short video appointment if any more information is required. Some patient portals deliver prescriptions even for free!
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They Let Medical Practices To Focus On Their Patients
These portals let practices fill forms online, have an online payment system, and keep accurate and up-to-date medical records. This helps doctors and practice office staff to provide excellent medical care to their patients. This is how patient portals create value for patients.
And isn’t it all practices want? Yes, for sure. Medical practice is all about it. One of the most basic benefits of the patient portal is that it allows practices and doctors to build relationships with existing and upcoming patients and give them attentive and compassionate care. Patient portals spare you a lot of time you need to focus on your patients, which you must do.
Is Patient Portal Safe?
Despite there being a lot and a lot of benefits, however, the biggest concern probably is the security risk they have. Especially when it comes to patients’ sensitive medical data, there is a big question mark on portals. Simply setting up a free portal website and expecting your patients to put their medical data there is not a child’s play. That is why it is crucial to acquire a medical service company patient portal through a professional.
But the good news is that patient portal are absolutely safe. All portals for patients are governed by the HIPAA rules regarding sensitive health and medical information. They are designed to keep security and privacy in mind and are hosted on an encrypted and secure site. GreenSense Billing offers patient portal services that are HIPAA compliant and comes with a minimal cost. Now you can schedule appointments, access EHR, see data analytics dashboards, and a lot more. Contact us for any query you have.
