A Saviance Healthcare Whitepaper. Patient Portals: Enhancing Productivity of the Providers

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1 A Saviance Healthcare Whitepaper Patient Portals: Enhancing Productivity of the Providers The way forward for Healthcare Meaningful Use of IT has made patient portals an essential technology for patients as well as providers. Whether you are a small clinician or a big healthcare provider or a patient, an effective patient portal has become indispensable for everyone as it is the most convenient way of delivering and receiving high quality patient care with more ease and efficiency. It is an easy and secure way of communicating with patients, giving updates on patient health information, coordinating patient appointments, managing chronic conditions; and sending/receiving information such as forms, documentation, updates, and s. This paper examines the implementation of patient portals and their impact on health care delivery. It is intended to inform how a well-designed patient portal can help to improve an organization s administrative efficiency and enhance productivity by reducing phone calls and paperwork, enabling electronic communications, and cutting costs on printing and postage. Following are the main aspects of patient portal which help providers to get desirable outcomes: 1. Engages patients effectively 2. Helps to reduce costs considerably 3. Helps to increase staff & administration efficiency 4. Helps to improve patient care

2 Engaging Patients means Increasing Profitability Engaging patients as consumers helps to transform patients perception of the healthcare enterprise as patients become more involved in their own healthcare. It promotes more personal relationships, and emphasizes an active exchange between patient and provider. The result is a new level of trust, and interactive collaboration with each member of the health system s network which in turn increases the credibility of the provider. One of the most important features of a patient portal is that the providers can make their patients access their health information easily anytime they want. With the support of mobile devices, the Patient Portal helps patients access and manage their healthcare processes through notifications and various other features with the ease of sitting in their home and offices. Portals boost patient engagement; an effective patient engagement increases patient satisfaction which is the most important factor in improving productivity. Let s quickly summarize how portals can make patients engaged and satisfied: Patients will appreciate the convenience of scheduling an appointment online rather than waiting on hold to speak with a receptionist. Portals shorten visit time and allow patients to download and fill out forms before visits, and can also allow patients to complete surveys online. Portals can help increase a practice s market share. In today s health care market, patients often seek out a provider who offers the option of using a portal to schedule appointments, request refills and ask questions. Large group of Hospitals with large number of physicians can create different patient portal experiences to protect their own unique market identities. Improving Productivity in a Cost Efficient way A Patient Portal is an effective method to connect your staff and patients in a cost effective way. Patient portal acts as a powerful tool that helps to streamline the office workflows and functions and reduce practice inefficiencies. Providers should implement a well-designed patient portal to manage their patient inflow and centralize patient database allowing physician, hospital portal users and patients to set their own

3 appointments and schedules. It requires less office staff to handle intake of paperwork and answer phones. Therefore, providers can focus more on their core functions and increase the quality of their services and productivity. Increasing Staff and Administration Efficiency Once patients get engaged with their own healthcare through portals and start communicating with the providers online, it directly affects the efficiency and quality of provider s services. It streamlines administrative process that can result in cost savings to the organization. Eliminating the need to mail patient results; instead patients can access them online Reducing the number of missed appointments due to online visibility and electronic reminders Booking appointments online Adding new patients and/or providers in a few easy clicks Adding or updating content to the Patient Library quickly and easily Enabling Superior Patient Care The quality of patient care can be improved significantly because portals make the health information of a patient easily accessible to providers without any flaws or discrepancies. a. Far is no longer too far Hospitals in rural or far flung areas with limited medical facilities often need to transfer patients to larger hospitals. The online access of medical information of a patient through portals and electronic health records make the transfer of data easier with more precise, comprehensive and accurate details. b. E-Counseling Another major component which contributes in improving patient care is online counseling. Elderly patients who are unable to make frequent visits to the hospital can communicate with their physician and take the benefit of e-counseling. c. Family involvement

4 Informed and educated patients and their families can take an active role in healthcare decision making; for example, when faced with multiple treatment options, for example, making a choice in the treatment of certain ailments, educational materials and tools can help them making treatment decisions. d. Patient participation Patients are also more likely to effectively manage their own care, as they require having healthy behaviour and chronic care as a part of their everyday activities. Patients participation in chronic care self-management programs can have a substantial impact on their health e.g., self-management programs for diabetics that help patients effectively manage their diabetes. Providers can achieve multifarious objectives through a Patient Portal Securely communicate with patients View history of patients Post lab and imaging results to the portal Send reminder notices Post and upload patient consent forms Obtain referral requests Send appropriate patient education materials directly to the patient E-consultation Prescription refills Integrate popular payment gateways to ensure online bill pay Saviance helps you achieving Meaningful Use through Patient Portals Saviance provides services in designing effective Patient Portals which help providers achieve Meaningful Use of IT such as: Integrates with Electronic Health Record (EHR) Helps to practice Management System which helps in total automation of office functions and a long-term reduction in administration staff Supports multiple, simultaneous EMR/PM interface connections

5 Integrates with your website and digital marketing campaign Improves patient retention rates while attracting new patients These meaningful objectives will support you in providing patients and families with health information and clinical summaries so that they can manage their care at home and throughout their everyday lives. Conclusion Today patient portals have made life easier both for patients and providers. An effective patient portal retrenches the cost and time consumed in long procedures before the starting of the treatments and heavy documentation involved during and after treatments. Patient Portal has become indispensable for providers in strengthening their market and competitive position, and fulfilling the requirements of meaningful use. It enhances patient engagement and communication with providers, and optimizes staff and provider productivity. As the patient portal industry is continuously evolving, it has been reckoned that the value of patient portal can go far beyond than it is expected. ******** ABOUT Saviance Healthcare Saviance Technologies is an IT Service provider focusing on the latest technology SMAC stack (Social, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud). Saviance Healthcare is a 100% subsidiary of Saviance Technologies and works exclusively on Patient Engagement solutions through innovative products and solutions like the Patient Intake Tablet. Incorporated in 1999 in New Jersey, with over 15 years of excellent industry track record, Saviance Technologies offers services & solutions that enable various enterprises to achieve critical business objectives. Saviance Technologies is a Gold Category Corporate Member with Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), mhealth Alliance and a NJ-HITEC Corporate member. As a certified Minority Business Enterprise, we are recognized by the New York and New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council (NJ&NYMSDC) as well as by Houston (HMSDC), Georgia (GMSDC) and Dallas (DFWMSDC).

6 Saviance Technologies is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified and has been awarded the Silver Competency by Microsoft. We are certified as Consulting & Technology Partner by Amazon Web Services and are certified by Red Hat. We are Partners with Samsung and Perfecto Mobile. We have been awarded by INC 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in North America. Saviance has also been ranked among the Fast 50 Asian American Businesses in the United States by USPAACC (US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce) and selected as a 2014 "Top Business" recipient by DiversityBusiness.com Visit us: Follow Us: Website: