Patient engagement has grown in popularity in the healthcare industry because of the Meaningful Use program. A medical center patient portal gives providers greater access to their health records. These portals increase patient engagement, and they help patients interact directly with their doctors, schedule appointments and remember to take important medication. If your organization has yet to implement an effective patient portal, here are five major reasons why you need to do so.
1. Cut Administrative Costs and Improve Workflow
Depending on how large your organization is, you can save thousands of dollars every month in paper-based administrative fees. You’ll also save the cost of hiring full-time records personnel if you decide to do away with paper records and implement a fully electronic medical records system with a patient portal.
Patients can schedule new appointments online and keep track of their next follow up visit. This optimizes workflow for most providers since there’s no need to fill out paperwork each time a patient makes an appointment.
2. Make Patients More Loyal
A well-designed patient portal enables your organization or practice to have higher patient retention rates. Patients who sign up to use their hospital’s patient portal usually remain loyal customers for years. This is largely due to the constant communication that the portal allows patients to have with their doctor. As a result, a strong bond develops between patients and their doctor. An increased retention rate can also significantly increase profits.
3. Improve Billing Efficiency
Most patient portals allow patients to pay their bills online, improving the provider’s revenue cycle management. Patients love to have the opportunity to pay bills online, and it’s one of the first features they want to see in the portal. Providers receive payment promptly and in full when patients can pay online. Another benefit is the greater satisfaction your patients derive from paying from the comfort of their homes instead of mailing checks.
4. Enhance Patient Care Outcomes
Patient portals make it easy for clinicians to improve their quality of care. A modern patient portal has features for patients to connect their mobile health apps, wearables, and some medical devices to upload important personal health metrics. Clinicians can use this information in real-time to improve their diagnosis, request emergency care, and help prevent unnecessary deaths. This type of data can also help providers build better decision support systems.
5. Meet Requirements for Meaningful Use
Another vital benefit of implementing a portal for patients is the ability to meet the Meaningful Use requirements. One of the requirements of Meaningful Use is that 80-percent of patients must have access to their medical records through an API or via a “view” or “download” function. A patient portal also enables providers to receive secure messages and upload patient-generated data.
Implement a New Medical Center Patient Portal for Your Practice or Organization
Contact Lifepoint Informatics today to get a free consultation on how to design and develop a new patient portal for your organization or practice. We’ve acquired the experience required to develop cutting-edge medical software for you by completing over 20,000 projects since 1999.