Implementation of patient portals has helped eliminate some of the significant challenges experienced by providers and their patients. Before implementing the portals, health professionals had to deal with a huge number of calls from patients seeking various services. Patient portals made the process easier by allowing patients to contact their providers in the form of a message. Medical professionals also had to deal with a huge workload due to the number of calls they had to make when sharing health information with their patients. Delays and miscommunication were experienced in communication before the implementation of patient portals. Implementation of patient portals has helped enhance healthcare efficiency by reducing workload for providers and fostering direct communication.
One of the challenges experienced before implementing patient portals is a huge call volume with patients seeking to communicate with healthcare providers. Patient portals have provided an alternative for patients to contact medical providers through messages. It was challenging for providers to process incoming calls from patients and route them to the most appropriate department (Healthit, 2017). This took much time; hence is likely to have contributed to delayed patient outcomes. The need to contact healthcare providers through a phone call made it hard for patients to maintain efficient communication, contributing to decreased adherence to medication.
Another challenge experienced before implementing patient portals is that medical staff had to make five to ten phone calls a day to share lab results with their patients. This was time-consuming and tiring, but patient portals made it easier since they are only required to convey a message which patients can access at any time. In most cases, healthcare assistants were required to work overtime to handle the huge workload resulting from the high volume of incoming and outgoing telephone calls. Patient portals have played a significant role in bringing down call volume and workload, thus eliminating the need for healthcare assistants to work overtime.
Patient portals eliminated the need for patients and providers to use phone tags which often resulted in delays and miscommunication. Delays in healthcare provision can easily lead to the deterioration of patients’ health. The use of messages in healthcare communication enables patients to contact desired medical providers directly. Miscommunication can cause health staff to issue the wrong medication or recommend ineffective procedures that have limited effectiveness. Delays and miscommunication in healthcare contribute to reduced quality of life for patients.
Before introducing patient portals, healthcare providers witnessed reduced engagement from the patients’ side due to limited access to information. It was challenging for patients to access their health records through the telephone since providers could only offer a highlight of recorded results. However, the implementation of patient portals made it easier for patients to access their records and enhanced efficiency in the requests they make about medication and referrals. Increased access to health records has fostered patient engagement in the health sector, which is necessary to enhance their quality of life.
Patient portals have helped enhance healthcare efficiency by reducing workload for providers and fostering direct communication with patients. Health providers had to handle a high number of incoming calls from patients and contact them in the same manner when sharing results. The process was tiresome for the providers, at times forcing them to work overtime to ensure that patients received needed information. Patient portals have helped enhance patients’ access to their medical information hence promoting engagement.
Reference
Healthit. (2017). Patient portal benefits patient care and provider workflow. Healthit.gov. Web.