A patient portal can be thought of as a gateway or door (in the form of a web interface) to information and data found within the physician’s portal. It provides an easy way for patients to access their primary care physicians for non-urgent care or follow-up treatment and assists providers in communicating with their patients.
For those offices and providers that are capturing meaningful use data, the patient portal will assist them in the following areas:
- Timely electronic access to changes in health information (Menu Set)
- Patient-specific education resources (Menu Set)
- Electronic copies of their health record (Core Set)
- Clinical summaries after each office visit (Core Set)
Patient portals also provide the following features:
- Send/receive messages to/from a doctor’s office (e.g., send faxed medication requests to pharmacies)
- Request new appointments, prescription refills, and lab reports (Note: California law requires that an appropriate exam be conducted prior to providing medications to a new patient.)
- Examine current and past medical statements
- Enter or modify personal information and other demographic information
- Receive emails for reminders, upcoming appointments, and statements
When viewing their data, patients are able to identify any inaccuracies and inconsistencies in their health record and then act by informing their providers and sharing that information at the next visit. Although patients aren’t able to manually edit these problems, the data assist physicians to work with more complete and accurate data, increasing the overall quality of care they provide.
Security
Security is a top concern with patient portals. Providers grant patients access with a secure username and password. It is important to choose a patient portal vendor that provides a system that allows the practice to be HIPAA compliant. The provider should establish procedures that are structured for optimal security.
An important security feature is how the patient establishes access. For example:
- A patient visits his or her physician's office and signs a Patient Portal Access/Authorization Form and is given a one-time use activation code; or
- A patient activates his or her portal account, logs into the portal, and creates a user ID and password
Terms and Conditions, Access Form, Disclaimers, or Authorization Forms
Our research indicates that these terms are used interchangeably and denote a written document wherein the practice delineates the policies and procedures governing the use of its patient portal. Each practice should draft its own set of guidelines, but all forms should inform patients that the portal should not be used for urgent or emergent matters. Your forms should also include information about the following:
- Explanation of and guidelines for use of the patient portal
- Response time
- General guidelines for communication
- Portal eligibility
- Privacy and security
- Liability disclaimer
- How to get started
Remember, only established patients should be able to access the practice’s patient portal. Your EHR vendor should have sample forms which include the above information.
Joseph Wager is a Senior Risk Management and Patient Safety Specialist for CAP. Questions or comments related to this article should be direct to jwager@CAPphysicians.com. The information in this publication should not be considered legal or medical advice applicable to a specific situation. Legal guidance for individual matters should be obtained from a retained attorney.