Patient portal
Encyclopedia
Patient Portals are healthcare-related online application
s that allow patient
s to interact and communicate with their healthcare providers, such as physician
s and hospital
s. Typically, portal services are available on the Internet at all hours of the day. Some patient portal applications exist as stand-alone web sites and sell their services to healthcare providers. Other portal applications are integrated into the existing web site of the healthcare provider. Still others are modules added onto an existing electronic medical record
system. What all of these share is the ability of the patient interacting with their medical information via the Internet. The lines between an electronic medical record
, personal health record
, and a patient portal are blurring. For example, Google Health
and Microsoft HealthVault, describe themselves as personal health records (PHRs), but can interface with EMRs and communicate via the Continuity of Care Record
standard, and expose patient data via the Internet so it can be viewed as patient portal.
s online, which can streamline and shorten visits to clinics and hospitals. Many portal applications also allow patients to request prescription
refills online, order eyeglasses and contacts, access medical record
s, pay bills, review lab results, and schedule necessary medical appointments. Patient portals also typically allow patients to directly communicate with healthcare providers by asking questions and leaving comments.
. For this reason, security has always been a top concern for the industry when dealing with the adoption of patient portals. While there may be systems that are not HIPAA compliant, certainly most patient and practice portals are secure and compliant with HIPAA regulations. The use of SSL
and access control
patterns are commonplace in the industry. Patient access is typically validated with a user name and password.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) in particular the HITECH Act inside the ARRA sets aside approximately $19 Billion for Health IT. The funding will offset, potentially pay for electronic medical records systems for practicing physicians. Because the conversion to EMR is typically complex, a likely upshot of the transition to EMR is a transition first to patient portals followed by a complete conversion to a full blown EMR.
At the same time as the conversion to patient portals and EMR systems, PHRs, personal health record
systems, are becoming more common and available. Currently, an individual's health data are primarily in physicians' files. It is for this reason that patient portals exist - to give the patient a view into their information. Given the mobility of patients, and the development of clear interoperable standards, the best documentation of patients history could be data outside the physicians office. At that point we will begin seeing physician portals.
Providing a route for patients to take that does not require them to come to the clinic benefits them and your organization. Many organizations find that overall utilization drops when e-visits are implemented, in some places by as much as 25%. This makes e-visits a very interesting proposition for insurance companies, although few actually re-imburse for them currently. E-visits, with the proper functionality, also allow the patient to update their allergies, vital signs, and history information.
Providing e-visits allows the standard healthcare organization to offer a product that can compete on price with the retail clinics that are popping up in strip malls and Wal-mart
.
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
s that allow patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s to interact and communicate with their healthcare providers, such as physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s. Typically, portal services are available on the Internet at all hours of the day. Some patient portal applications exist as stand-alone web sites and sell their services to healthcare providers. Other portal applications are integrated into the existing web site of the healthcare provider. Still others are modules added onto an existing electronic medical record
Electronic medical record
An electronic medical record is a computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or physician's office...
system. What all of these share is the ability of the patient interacting with their medical information via the Internet. The lines between an electronic medical record
Electronic medical record
An electronic medical record is a computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or physician's office...
, personal health record
Personal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
, and a patient portal are blurring. For example, Google Health
Google Health
Google Health is a personal health information centralization service by Google introduced in 2008 and announced for withdrawal in 2011...
and Microsoft HealthVault, describe themselves as personal health records (PHRs), but can interface with EMRs and communicate via the Continuity of Care Record
Continuity of Care Record
Continuity of Care Record is a health record standard specification developed jointly by ASTM International, the Massachusetts Medical Society , the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society , the American Academy of Family Physicians , the American Academy of Pediatrics , and other...
standard, and expose patient data via the Internet so it can be viewed as patient portal.
Benefits and features of patient portals
The central feature which makes a system, or a part of a system, a patient portal, is the ability to expose personal, patient health information securely via the Internet. Virtually all patient portals allow the patient to interact in some way with the health care provider. Patient portals benefit both patients and health care providers by increasing efficiency and productivity. Patient portal applications might allow patients to register and complete formForm (web)
A webform on a web page allows a user to enter data that is sent to a server for processing. Webforms resemble paper or database forms because internet users fill out the forms using checkboxes, radio buttons, or text fields...
s online, which can streamline and shorten visits to clinics and hospitals. Many portal applications also allow patients to request prescription
Medical prescription
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....
refills online, order eyeglasses and contacts, access medical record
Medical record
The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....
s, pay bills, review lab results, and schedule necessary medical appointments. Patient portals also typically allow patients to directly communicate with healthcare providers by asking questions and leaving comments.
Disadvantages
The major shortcoming that most patient portals have is that they are tied to only one organization. If a patient travels to many organizations for their healthcare they normally need to log into each organization’s portal to get access to their information. This results in a fragmented view of their data.Practice portals
Portal applications for practices typically exist in tandem with patient portals, allowing access to patient information and records, as well as schedules, payments, and messages from patients. Most patient portals require the practice to have some type of electronic medical record or patient management system, as the patient data needs to be stored in a data repository then retrieved by the patient portal.Security
Health care providers in the US are bound to comply with HIPAA regulations. These regulations specify what patient information must be held in confidence. Something as seemingly trivial as a name is viewed by HIPAA as protected health informationProtected health information
Protected health information , under the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to a specific individual...
. For this reason, security has always been a top concern for the industry when dealing with the adoption of patient portals. While there may be systems that are not HIPAA compliant, certainly most patient and practice portals are secure and compliant with HIPAA regulations. The use of SSL
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
and access control
Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system...
patterns are commonplace in the industry. Patient access is typically validated with a user name and password.
History
Internet portal technology has been in common use since the 90s. The financial industry has been particularly adept at using the Internet to grant indivdual users access to their information. Possibly because of the strictness of HIPAA regulations, or the lack of financial incentives for the health care providers, the adoption of patient portals has lagged behind other market segments.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
(ARRA) in particular the HITECH Act inside the ARRA sets aside approximately $19 Billion for Health IT. The funding will offset, potentially pay for electronic medical records systems for practicing physicians. Because the conversion to EMR is typically complex, a likely upshot of the transition to EMR is a transition first to patient portals followed by a complete conversion to a full blown EMR.
At the same time as the conversion to patient portals and EMR systems, PHRs, personal health record
Personal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
systems, are becoming more common and available. Currently, an individual's health data are primarily in physicians' files. It is for this reason that patient portals exist - to give the patient a view into their information. Given the mobility of patients, and the development of clear interoperable standards, the best documentation of patients history could be data outside the physicians office. At that point we will begin seeing physician portals.
Future
E-visits may soon be one of the most commonly used options of patient portals that are available. The best demographic for e-visits are patients who live far away from their clinics, have kids, or who don’t want to spend 2-4 hours for a trip to the doctor when all they need is a quick answer or diagnosis for a minor symptom such as common colds, sinus infections, urinary problems, coughs, diarrhea and back pain.Providing a route for patients to take that does not require them to come to the clinic benefits them and your organization. Many organizations find that overall utilization drops when e-visits are implemented, in some places by as much as 25%. This makes e-visits a very interesting proposition for insurance companies, although few actually re-imburse for them currently. E-visits, with the proper functionality, also allow the patient to update their allergies, vital signs, and history information.
Providing e-visits allows the standard healthcare organization to offer a product that can compete on price with the retail clinics that are popping up in strip malls and Wal-mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
.
See also
- Health careHealth careHealth care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
- Health informaticsHealth informatics.Health informatics is a discipline at the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care...
- Electronic health recordElectronic Health RecordAn electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
- Personal health recordPersonal health recordA personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...