Your Patient Portal: What Is It? How Is It Used?

Jon Belsher is a healthcare business executive with years of experience in leadership and educational roles in private sector companies, non-profit groups, and public sector organizations. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer for MedSpring Urgent Care. This blog was originally posted here.

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Remember the days when your doctor walked into the exam room with a large file filled with paperwork? And behind the check-in desk, you saw endless rows of files on the bookshelves? In our new digital era, those days are long gone. Now your doctor comes in with a laptop and not a piece of paper in sight. The once-filled bookshelves behind the counter are now just empty skeletons. Your medical provider most likely transitioned into digital healthcare by implementing the patient portal.

What is the patient portal?

According to healthit.gov, a patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an internet connection. Doctors can upload discharge summaries, prescribed medications, immunizations, allergies and lab results to the patient portal. With a secure username and password, patients can view this information at any time and from anywhere. Patients can also:

• Send messages to their health care provider in-between visits
• Request prescription refills
• Schedule non-urgent appointments
• Download, complete and sign forms
• Check benefits and coverage
• Update contact information
• Make payments

How does the patient portal work?

The patient portal has become an efficient and engaging way for patients and doctors to communicate with each other. Instead of the patient trying to call someone at the doctor’s office (while possibly playing “phone tag”), staff can quickly respond to emails and requests from patients. Not only is this more efficient from a business standpoint, but all inquiries are in writing so messages will not be subject to misinterpretation or miscommunication.

Although the portal can be accessed by the patient and physician from anywhere at any time, that doesn’t mean your doctor will respond to your message during non-office hours. If you need non-emergency medical care and your doctor’s office is not open, you can go to a walk-in clinic such as a Medspring Urgent Care. For true emergency situations, make sure you go to the ER.

How do I get started with the patient portal?

If you’re not familiar with the patient portal already, you should familiarize yourself with this revolutionary healthcare tool. If your doctor has handouts about how to access the portal, make sure you read them while you’re waiting for your appointment. While you’re there, you can also ask the staff questions about how to create an account as well as how to use the account. If you’re hands-on, you can create a portal account at your next visit. You can ask a staff member to help you setup your account. You want to make sure you print out the login information along with instructions on how to use the portal. After your visit, you can log in on your home computer to view the discharge summary.

If you don’t stay abreast of changes, you have the potential to be left behind. You definitely don’t want to get left behind with your healthcare, so sign up for patient portal. Your enhanced healthcare experience will improve your patient-provider communication, provide additional supportive care and will make you feel empowered that you have more control over your healthcare.