The patient web portal has brought about many great benefits for patients across the healthcare system. One of the main noted and the most significant benefit of a patient web portal is the ability for patients to get more involved in their healthcare decisions through communication with their healthcare providers 24/7 (Alfano, 2016). As a registered nurse, I have observed patients' excitement on discharge from the hospital when they are informed about the patient web portal and how they could easily access their medical health records, contact their Physician (for any post-operative issues for example) at the convenience of their home without the need to drive to the hospital to pick up the hard copy. Hence, implementing the patient's web portal in a …show more content…
• Send prescriptions to pharmacies without the need for a physical copy. Patient/member web portals are becoming more mainstream in today's healthcare industry because of the advance in internet web-based services as well as the rise in health information technology. According to Miller (2009), the growth in internet access in today's healthcare practices has driven an increase in the use of patients web portal by many healthcare organizations (both nationally and worldwide) due to its much-secured interface and broader features compared to e-mail. The HIM professionals are in a great position to provide essential role with the management of the patient web portal; and there strong base knowledge in health IT are central to the daily management and function of the portal (Dixon, A).Their roles include and not limited to: • Development and maintenance of organizational procedures, policies, and guidelines as it relates to the management of patients' medical health records. • Supporting research in identifying and responding to the queries generated from the use of the portal both internally and
Patient portals offer many functions to allow a patient or proxy access to healthcare information to help improve patient healthcare. Within the patient portal a patient can access a portion of their health record; such as “medical history, health issues, medication lists, test results, care plans, allergy list,” schedule appointments, view and pay bills online, request medication refills, fill out forms electronically, and upload clinical information (Sayles 331). In addition, there are other functions that Surae Lucie took advantage of to help get her mother’s health back on track that are recommended by the National Learning Consortium. She used proxy access to access her elderly mother’s record, and sent messages to her mother’s healthcare providers to get her mother’s medication dosage and
In today’s market you must have a Web presence to compete. Hospitals are no longer immune to changes brought about by the intenet and web based transactions. Patton-Fuller must look internally to see what services could be offered through a Web Portal to extend as much information to their patients as possible. Some information that could be delivered to patients electronically are newsletters, viewing of peoples public information that are currently in the hospital, such as patients’ room numbers, as well as the ability to purchase
Modern communications capabilities open up a world of possibilities for all types of medical practices to develop deeper connections with their patients and to manage health care remotely. The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives patients the right to obtain copies of their medical records, treatments and protected health information or PHI. These requirements go further if medical providers want to receive reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid -- patients must be able to access their records online, download copies and transmit the information to third-party providers. Most medical practices are finding it necessary to develop patient portals where patients and physicians can interact, share information and perform important functions such as practices billing patients and accepting payments online. HIPAA 's rules require that these patient portals have strong security and privacy protections to prevent unauthorized access of these confidential PHI records.
Changes in current health care practices, the aging baby-boomer population, and the higher acuity of patients has created a need for change and adaptability with the health care industry. Kaiser is an organization who has shown the ability to continuously change in order to reduce costs while improving efficient quality patient care. The investment on information technology (IT) advancements such as the implantation of electronic health records (EHRs) and use of a patient portal system is one way the organization has shown readiness to meet the health care needs of patients. KP in collaboration with five other healthcare organizations created a Care Connectivity Consortium, enabling secure electronic retrieval of current
“Performs variety of duties including collection of the discharge patient health information management from all departments: emergency department, inpatient floors, and outpatient surgery department; preparation of charts to (electronic health information management” (Health Information Careers, n.a).
Organizing, reviewing and auditing patient medical records for correctness and proper handling of health records following HIPPA and DOD guidelines.
Communication is the key in a health care field and having patient portals has increased information sharing between physician, nurses and patients. Patient portal is software that allows patients to get access to their own electronic medical record in a secure, efficient and easy to use program. Patient portals offer updated list of medications, diagnosis, allergies, lab results, patient history and more. Patients have access to their portals, which allows them to keep themselves up to date on not only their history but new information that doctors and nurses have given them. Also, having access to their portal allows them to keep updated information such as, discharge instructions for better care. This eliminates the time the nurses would spend on phone tag. It is a secure online software that provides patients with privacy and own username and password.
After reviewing the Medicare website, I learned a few new things as well as had some previous knowledge clarified. First, I learned that Medicare offers a lot more services that I initially thought such as alcohol misuse screenings, depression screenings, HIV screenings, and sexually transmitted infections screenings and counseling. In addition, prior to reviewing the website, I knew that there were two parts to Medicare, Part A and Part B, however I did not know that difference between the two parts and the different services they provide. I learned that Part A is basically hospital insurance that covers visits to a facility such as a hospital or doctor visit. Alternatively, Part B is medical insurance that covers the actual services and medical equipment such as outpatient care and preventative services.
Patients and their families can log into the portal anytime to recall the visit and follow up plan (Crane, 2014). Those patients who take multiple medication are easily able to keep track of their medication and request a refill. Patient are engaged as they log in to manage their medications, view labs, or to view a secure message. Studies have shown that patients with portals have more adherence to receiving influenza shots and mammograms as these patients receive important reminders via secure messaging (Goldzweing, 2013). Nowadays, patients want to be part of their medical care and hence improve quality of life. With access to patient data, patient are also willing to learn more about their disease process. Therefor, portal also provides patient with educational materials to understand the disease and treatment plan. Involving patient in their own care will result in better outcomes and adherence to treatment plan. Another result of portal is cost saving. For example, “the secure messaging feature of the patient portal could result in saving of $0.62 per appointment reminder, $1.75 per phone call to patients, and $2.69 for each lab result delivery” (Emont, 2011). While the amount may appear to be small, but it adds up to the overall
The next factor to consider is the impact of emerging technologies; particularly around e-health and personalized medicine. Digitization of health care is becoming increasingly effective means of coping with the huge volume of health data and helps in making informed decisions. NS has fostered a significant environment of emerging e-health strategies (EMRs and EHRs) to improve secure access to information and patient care (Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, 2013). This is a step to encourage DNS in order to provide guidance to physicians and other HCP. Statistics on usage of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) state that more than 70% of physicians use an EMR in Nova Scotia (Rowinska, 2015). Access to online medical information means there is no longer a need for duplicate testing which results in timely treatment and better management of the health system. (Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, 2013). Moving from paper-records to e-health technology presents an opportunity for DNS to integrate information across a healthcare continuum allowing quality decision-making and enhancing safety of patients.
Having one central point is imperative to the growth, and improvement in the health care industry. It also has the potential to improve health care expenditures which I know all the citizens of America are in favor for. There a lot of citizens in the U.S. that believe that it is the government’s responsibility to protect their online health information and establish and monitor compliance (Nazi, 2010). With the growing number of health care organizations struggling to stay afloat and people trying to steal other individual’s identity, it is imperative for the government to step in to propose a universal web-based EHR system. It would relieve the finical burden of the health care organizations and promote growth in the health care industry.
Patients can use a patient portal to perform the first element of the common workflow, i.e., the chief complaint from home. A patient portal is a secure provider’s online website that affords patients access anytime and from any location to personal health information as long as there is an available Internet connection. Thus, all that is required for this endeavor is an internet connection, and any Internet-connected device via a secure and password protected access (1st Providers, 2016).
Although there are studies conducted by Ferreira that took into account paper reviews having surveys and interviews of patients and clinicians, it did not include control groups. Thus, the studies could not empirically identify the advantages of patient portal when combined traditional patient care. This article is first of its kind where a systemic evaluation was conducted by analyzing controlled studies on use of patient portals. The author after critically reviewing the prior works which studied the impact of patient portals on patient care, raises the following question:
The PHR is defined as "based-on-the-Internet set of tools that makes it possible for people to coordinate and access their lifelong health data, and makes some parts of it available and accessible to those who need it" (Segall et al., 2011). PHRs may be useful, especially, for people with chronic diseases who expect to receive some advantages from using PHRs to learn and monitor their health problems. PHRs allow care coordination among clinicians, ensure patients the opportunity to access and search their medical information, support them in managing health, and make them be active participants in the decision-making process. The early adopters of PHRs could be chronically ill patients because most of them are active users of the internet and computers. Therefore, PHRs
Upgrading our documentation to information and informatics comes with many advantages for the health care team to improve quality and safe ty improvement. Also, the use of technology such as telehealth, telenursing and videoconferencing are on the rise, and will be embedded into our communities and nursing organizations so that we can reach people around the country who do not have accessibility quality health care. Using technology to educate patients and families about credible websites, and how to search for pertinent information that is relevant to his or her health is a priority. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary emergency rooms visits. These actions foster communication and minimize anxiety