Patient Portals And Communication

1769 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on patient portals

Patient Portals and Communication
Technology is a driving force in our society. People can now manage their bank accounts, pay bills, and get their news with the click of the mouse. It only makes sense that the health care industry would join in on these web-based initiatives. More and more providers are using online patient portals as a means for communicating with patients and allowing them to have access to important health information. While patient portals are still in their emerging stages, positive results are being reported from patients and healthcare professionals alike. Online patient portals allow more effective communications between patients and their healthcare professionals by developing stronger, more utilized relationships and by creating a way to get information out to patients more efficiently. Through this enhanced communication there will be patients that are more actively engaged in their treatment, have stronger relationships with their healthcare professionals, and in many cases have improved medical conditions.
Online patient portals are being utilized at health care offices and hospitals across the country. A patient portal is a secured website in which patients can email their providers, view and pay bills, request appointments, research health topics, review personal information, complete medical forms, and update their profiles and contact information (Ellis). In addition, some patient portals offer health monitoring tools, such as food diaries, body mass index calculators, depression screenings, and personalized plans to help patients quit smoking or lose weight (“The Doctor Will E-Mail You Now”). These portals provide a new method for patients to stay connected to their health care professionals ...

... middle of paper ...

...ent portal is explained and subsequently begin using the secured messaging feature (“Meaningful Use Case Studies”). These kiosks can also be used as a patient education tool, so that patients can learn more about their health while they are in the office (“Meaningful Use Case Studies”).
Communication and strong patient-provider relationships are two key aspects of a successful health care organization. Patient portals provide the technology to improve both of these aspects to create the most effective and personalized care for the patient. Successful communications strategies are imperative to health care organizations because the patient’s health depends on it. Patient portals create an efficient environment in which the patient feels connected to their health care provider and communication is effectively driven through interaction both in and out of the office.

Show More
Related

  • Annotated Bibliography on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the evolution of healthcare from paper documentation to electronic documentation and ordering, the security of patient information is becoming more difficult to maintain. Electronic healthcare records (EHR), telenursing, Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE) are a major part of the future of medicine. Social media also plays a role in the security of patient formation. Compromising data in the information age is as easy as pressing a send button. New technology presents new challenges to maintaining patient privacy. The topic for this annotated bibliography is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Nursing informatics role is imperative to assist in the creation and maintenance of the ease of the programs and maintain regulations compliant to HIPAA. As a nurse, most documentation and order entry is done electronically and is important to understand the core concepts of HIPAA regarding electronic healthcare records. Using keywords HIPAA and informatics, the author chose these resources from scholarly journals, peer reviewed articles, and print based articles and text books. These sources provide how and when to share patient information, guidelines and regulation d of HIPAA, and the implementation in relation to electronic future of nursing.

    Read More

  • Lean Six Sigma Model In Nursing

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    information using the internet. Today patients are encouraged to be active in their care. Patient

    Read More

  • Health Care IT and Quality Health Care

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unfortunately, the quality of health care in America is flawed. Information technology (IT) offers the potential to address the industry’s most pressing dilemmas: care fragmentation, medical errors, and rising costs. The leading example of this is the electronic health record (EHR). An EHR, as explained by HealthIT.gov (n.d.), is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. It includes, but is not limited to, medical history, diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans. The EHR, then, serves as a resource that aids clinicians in decision-making by providing comprehensive patient information.

    Read More

  • Essay On Patient Portals

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patient portal is a Web-based access point which enables physicians and patients to chat and exchange health details remotely, adds an extra element for the continued handling of the patient's care. Although portals cannot substitute a face-to-face visit, they have got a lot of advantages, these are generally developed to improve patient's involvement in his or her care, portals help monitoring test results as well as health records and can also improve a regular doctor-patient discussion. Moreover, portals are effective in reducing expensive paperwork by functioning as online billing and pay centers.

    Read More

  • The Benefits Of Patient Portals

    2358 Words  | 5 Pages

    In its simplest form, the basic concept of a patient portal is that it is a website, that has some form of security embedded into the process, which allows identified users (patients) access to some level of their health information via the Internet. This access is controlled by authentication methods and the information is personal health data that is being hosted and/or managed by the organization (via a database). The amount or level of information that the user has accessed due is strictly set by the organization and access control through software applications that assure authentication, authorization and accountability. In a 2013 article, Gary Hamilton discuss the advantages of patient portals and state that they, “present many workflow efficiencies for providers, offer empowering tools for patient engagement and facilitate meaningful and relevant information excha...

    Read More

  • Electronic Health Record Implementation Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).

    Read More

  • Utilizing Patient Portal

    4277 Words  | 9 Pages

    (2011) To review the impact of electronic patient portals on patient empowerment. Searched studies that measured the impact of a patient portal on the outcome criteria such as patient satisfaction with the provided care, patient empowerment, costs and resource consumption, mortality or other relevant clinical parameters. Systematic review Descriptive evidence from a large number of studies suggests that patients interested in access to their patient records, and that they find it helpful and useful. 4 Ammenwerth, E., Schnell-Inderst, P., & Hoerbst, A. (2012) To systematically review the available evidence on the impact of electronic patient portals on patient care. A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and other sources to identify controlled experimental or Quasi-experimental studies on the impact of patient portals Systematic review Significant changes in the patient portal group, compared to a control group, could be observed for the following parameters: quicker decrease in office visit rates and slower increase in telephone contacts; increase in number of messages sent, changes of the medication regimen and better adherence to treatment.

    Read More

  • Interprofessional Collaboration: Chi Mei Medical Center

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Effective health care collaboration has been valued as a key strategy for the health care reform. The health care collaboration not only improves the outcomes of medical care provided to the patient, but also provides benefits to health care providers. In terms of the importance of providing an effective and convenient means of interprofessional collaboration and communication, Chi Mei Medical Center developed a patient-centered computerized platform to fulfill this purpose. The platform features an integrated core area and a spiral-shaped communication area, allowing the medical team to look at the medical care that the patient receives within seven days and faithfully show whether the team members have read the communication messages. In

    Read More

  • Essay On Privacy And Privacy

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The increased use of high speed communication technologies has not only speeded up the delivery of care, but has opened new portals for potential breeches of patients ' privacy. With increased specialization and sub specialization and resulting increases in consultation, greater need for communication between health care professionals has arisen, and so has the potential for more complete patient

    Read More

  • Importance Of Health Literacy Essay

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    290). Throughout numerous healthcare organizations, e-Health techniques are regarded as vital to the delivery of quality, patient-centred health care. The e -technology can improve patient-physician relationships, to guide aimed questions for greater understanding of health conditions and better management of the health disorders. As per The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services e-Health initiatives will help the health care industry deliver higher quality care and reduce costs. Among the limitations and shortcomings of E-health are the chances of impersonality, e-Health applications might not be user-friendly and commonly available. Patients also need to develop confidence in E-health. Concerns about privacy and security of information have slowed the development of this initiative (McGonigle & Garver Mastrian, 2015, p. 290). It is critical to assure the security of health-related medical records. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is the main Federal laws that protects patient’s health information. The Law requires the organizations that manage health information to have policies and safeguards to protect health information saved on paper or

    Read More

  • Effective Management in Healthcare Organizations

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    The present environments for healthcare organizations contain many forces demanding unprecedented levels of change. These forces include changing demographics, increased customer outlook, increased competition, and strengthen governmental pressure. Meeting these challenges will require healthcare organizations to go through fundamental changes and to continuously inquire about new behavior to produce future value. Healthcare is an information-intensive process. Pressures for management in information technology are increasing as healthcare organizations feature to lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care. Healthcare organizations have developed better and more complex. Information technology must keep up with the dual effects of organizational complication and continuous progress in medical technology. The literature review will discuss how health care organizations can provide effective care by the intellectual use of information.

    Read More

  • Essay On Electronic Health Record

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of the Electronic Health Record is to provide a comprehensive, standardized and universal digital version of a patient 's health records. The availability of a patient 's digital health record provides health information and data for critical thinking and evidence based decision-making, aggregates patient data for quality assurance and research. The Electronic Health Record has been, "identified as a strategy for effectively and efficiently coordinating and maintaining documentation of patients health histories and as a secure method of providing more informed clinical decision making" (MNA, 2006).

    Read More

  • Doctor Patient Communication

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mandl, Kenneth, MD., Kohane, Isaac, MD., Brandt, Allan, MD. (1998). “Electronic Patient – Physician Communication: Problems and Promise”. Annals of Internal Medicine, 129, 495 – 500.

    Read More

  • future of health care

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    The internet is a very functional form of electronic communication. Let’s think external delivery. Using the internet as a source of delivery for communicating patient information this is considered external delivery that transmits instantaneously between all healthcare businesses. The internet gives us the tools to do a lot, expand technology in the healthcare field that will allow the physicians and their patients to...

    Read More

  • The Role And Roles Of Information And Communication Technology In Healthcare

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been shown to be increasingly important in the education or training and professional practice of healthcare. This paper discusses the impacts of using ICT in Healthcare and its administration. Health Information technology has availed better access to information, improved communication amongst physicians, clinicians, pharmacists and other healthcare workers facilitating continuing professional development for healthcare professionals, patients and the community as a whole. This paper takes a look at the roles, benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in healthcare services and goes on to outline the ICT proceeds/equipment used in the health sector such as the

    Read More

More about Patient Portals And Communication

Open Document