Pros and cons of using patient portals
Healthcare is improving and with the emergence of the digital facilities that dominate the healthcare industry, the healthcare services are not the same again. The healthcare industry today is largely influenced by digital tools and technologies, which are hugely helping the patients as well as the providers. Patient portals are one of the boons of the introduction of digital technologies.
59% of the Americans were offered a patient portal in 2020, which surged from the 42% of patients who were offered such portals in 2014. This means that both the demand and the importance of the patient portals are increasing today. Patient portals surely come with many advantages, all of which are the reasons behind the growing demand for patient portals. However, before exploring the advantages and disadvantages of the patient portals, which we will do later in this article, we must first understand patient portals. So, here we go :
What are patient portals?
Patient portals can be defined as secure websites that the patients can access, which provide them 24x7 access to their medical records or their personal health information from anywhere just with the help of an internet connection.
Patient portals are really driving more and more in demand because of the major benefits it provides. These portals pack in a whole load of information related to the patient and his/her health and illnesses. The portals for patients further help them keep track of their visits to their healthcare providers along with containing their test results, prescriptions, billing details, and more. Moreover, the portals also provide an easy way of communication between the patients and the providers, where information can stay secure and intact. Now, if you are wondering about what all are there in the patient portals and what you can do via these portals, then here's a list of information that you will find in one such portal along with all that you can do:
• Making appointments is possible
• Requesting referrals can also be done
• Refilling prescriptions is another benefit of these portals
• Checking the benefits in one glance is also possible
• One can also update insurance/contact related information
• Making payments can also be done
• Completing forms is another benefit of the portals for patients
• Asking questions through secure mail is also done via these portals
• It helps in viewing test results
• Visit summaries can also be checked on the patient portals
• Medical history is another thing that can be checked via patient portals
• Patient portals also bring an array of patient-education articles
Patient gateway is another term used to refer to patient portals. The patient gateways and partners patient gateways for the patients offer them and others an insight into their health information and medical condition. These portals bring many benefits for both the patients and the doctors today.
A 2018 survey of nearly 1,800 respondents showed that an overwhelming 90% of healthcare organizations offer their patients access to patient portals. This reveals how important the patient portals are for the patients and the practices. Now that we know that the these portals are integral to the healthcare industry and play a crucial role in bettering the healthcare sector from what it once was, we must now delve into the advantages that the patient portals bring to the patients and the healthcare providers. So, here's starting with the pros of the patient portals.
Pros of Using the Patient Portals
Some of the major advantages of the patient portals for the patients and the providers are:
24x7 access to the patients' health information
Patients' health is crucial, and it should be monitored all the time, thereby reducing the need for all the last-minute hassles during an abnormality or emergency. Now, with the emergence of the patient portals from trusted providers like GrowPractice, this can finally be possible without any hassles. These portals preserve all the patient's health information and medical records that the patients and the providers might required from time to time.
Around 40% of the adults in the US are using patient portals today to access their healthcare records, which is up from 25% of adults back in 2014. This means that the absorption of such portals is really increasing with time!
Better workflow
A fast and organised workflow is one crucial thing that needs to be nourished by the medical providers. However, maintaining an optimum workflow was tough earlier because of the lack of timely treatment and the appropriate tools and methods for the same. Besides, the unavailability of the patients' data also delayed the patients' treatment or acted as major barriers to the same.The emergence of the patient gateways and partners patient gateway, with the 24x7 access to patients health information, medical records and their details are now helping the practices achieve the dream workflow. Furthermore, the medical providers can also customize their workflow to improve the quality of the healthcare services offered, thereby boosting the patient satisfaction with GrowPractice!
Faster and quality results
Gone are the days when the patients' treatment took days, mainly because of the lack of technological advancements and the manual ways of reading and recording data. Now with the improved healthcare equipments and facilities, patients' tests and treatments are way faster. Besides, the patients' healthcare information and other records are also automatically saved in an instant with the high-quality patient portals that the healthcare providers are getting access to from well-known providers like GrowPractice.
Faster communications and reminders
Surveys reflect that around 57% of the patients expect their providers to send text, voice or email reminders for scheduling appointments, reminding them of medications and more. These reminders have been proving to improve patient no-shows, which is the root cause of the loss of around $150 bn that the healthcare industry is witnessing. However, with the introduction of effective patient portals, efficient communications with crucial reminders to the patients can be assured.
Some other pros of using patient portals are:
• Increased patient engagement
• Accurate data recorded
• Increased patient loyalty
• Shortened waiting times
• Paperless portals are eco-friendly
• No additional costs involved
Along with all these benefits that the patient gateways offer, the patient portals are also known for some disadvantages that the providers are fast closing in on in order to improve the experience of both the providers and the patients.
Cons of Using the Patient Portals
Security is a big concern
Reports from 2009 to 2016 has recorded data breaches out of which around 30% of the big data breaches were seen in the healthcare field. The patient-sensitive information or PHI happens to be one of the primary targets of the hackers today, who are always on the move to get some patient data. This makes secure a big concern when it comes to the patient portals. However, with GrowPractice's medical office software and dental office software solutions, you can rest assured of the security concerns because the patient and practice management software that
GrowPractice offers, are HIPAA-compliant, and guarded by powerful multi-level security and data encryption.
Opting patients in is difficult
Though patient portals offer an array of benefits to the patients as well as the providers, many patients refrain from opting in for patients portals. Recent reports reveal that though 90% of the providers offer the patients access to the patient portals, only 30% of the patients are actually using them. This is mainly because the confusing website interface of the platform, the fear of the lack of response to the queries, clinical information not being posted timely and more. However, all of these need to be checked by the providers, and it is important that practices only go for trusted medical office software providers. GrowPractice is one among them that promises efficient medical practice and dental practice management software that eases the journey for the patients and helps the practices grow.
Patients often get annoyed
Patient portals are good to use unless they start to annoy the patients. Yes, a recent survey report showed that 41% of patients experience frustration when they start navigating these portals offered to them by the providers. This frustration mainly arises from the lack of knowledge, poor quality software and the inconvenience of using them. However, if you donât want to face it and further let your patients face the same, then GrowPractice can help you achieve the same. GrowPractice offers smart and efficient patient portals that are operational 24x7, and also promises around the clock assistance for the same.
Along with these cons, some other disadvantages of the patient portals include the confusions and anxiety that arise frequently with the usage of the portals for patients. Furthermore, the work time of the medical staff have also increased on numerous occasions while using these portals.
Though the patient portal have one too many cons, they are largely chosen by the medical providers today. However, while opting for a portal that the practices would let the patients use, the medical practices need to go for a reliable medical service provider like GrowPractice.
GrowPractice is one of the most trusted medical office software providers that bring trustworthy and hassle-free medical practice management and patient management software solutions for the healthcare practices to ease the patients' journey along with helping the practice grow!
Some of the major highlights of the GrowPractice medical software solutions are:
• It offers easy integration with over 65 PM and EHR software
• It helps customize the patient workflow
• It makes patient appointments fast and easy
• It offers online patient intakes and check-ins
• It brings the ultimate security and HIPAA-compliance
• It helps in boosting the patient engagement
• It contributes to paperless offices
• It eliminate the waste of staff time
• It helps practice grow in size and revenue
