Healthwise: Patient Portals

Finding What You Need — Without Getting Lost

Before you see your doctor, you might be asked to log in to a portal to make your next appointment or fill out forms. Some may prefer using technology in lieu of calling a receptionist, but others may have difficulty remembering passwords or navigating screens.     

According to a recent study, 90% of U.S. hospitals offer patient portals, but only 70% of patients get access to their portal and just 34% use it regularly to view, download or transmit their health information.  

Patient portals have become one of the most powerful tools in modern health care, reshaping how we interact with our health care providers and medical records. Nearly every major health system offers one, yet many patients still aren’t fully aware of what their portal can do for them.  

Concord Hospital Health System’s patient portal serves as a single access point for nearly every part of a patient’s medical experience, from primary care and specialists to emergency and inpatient visits, according to Dr. Michael McLeod, DO, a family medicine physician with Family Tree Health Care — Hopkinton and associate chief clinical officer for primary care for the Concord Hospital Health System. 

Whether patients see a health system primary care provider or a specialist, each of their records from those visits is stored in the portal. This gives both patients and providers a unified view of their lab results, visit summaries, medications, imaging records and upcoming appointments. 

“Your emergency room visit two weeks ago, your blood work from your cardiologist a month ago — those are all within your access in your portal,” McLeod says. “It’s a singular point of entry for, really, the entire health system.”

Portals provide patients with greater transparency and flexibility. Patients can ask for prescription refills, check appointment times, or complete forms in minutes, without picking up the phone. Test results and health care records require no phone call or special permissions — just a few clicks. And because most portals are accessible through phone apps, you can retrieve information just as easily on vacation as you would at home.

“I think one (advantage), which is a solution for both patients and doctors, with everybody having such busy lives, is asynchronous communication,” McLeod says. 

Patients can send secure messages to doctors through the portal any time, and care teams can more easily respond to patient questions during office hours. Staff members can then triage messages, ensuring health care providers reach patients with more timely concerns right away. 

While portals provide a convenient way for patients and providers to communicate with one another, they are not designed to handle emergencies, McLeod says. 

“If you said, ‘I’m having crushing chest pain right now,’ you shouldn’t send that in a portal message,” he says.

Beyond convenience, portals encourage patients to play a more active role in their own health care. Data shows that patients most commonly log into portals to view test results and clinical notes. But portals can also help patients remember what medications they should be taking and what they discussed at their last visit. It can also close potential gaps in care. 

“It provides you with a double check to make sure things aren’t missed,” McLeod says. “If folks notice something in their portal that maybe their provider didn’t talk to them about or didn’t have a follow up plan for, they can actively manage their health.”

On the back end, the portals help consolidate patient records and gives providers a place to share information and communicate in real time.

“I had two examples today of patients who see one of our specialists, and it was just very helpful to be able to send them a message through our electronic health system to say, ‘Hey, I’m seeing a mutual patient today and this is what their lab looked like. Is there anything else you want me to do? Does this seem OK?’ The communication is much better,” McLeod says.

Easier Access, Technological Advances Will Drive Usage

If portals are so convenient, why aren’t more patients logging in? Some patients aren’t aware that they have access to one, and others might not be comfortable with technology. However, most systems allow you to reset forgotten passwords and offer user experiences that are intuitive and accessible from a mobile device. If you don’t have portal access and want to start using it, you can typically get that information from your provider’s office staff.

“Some of my strongest portal users are 90 years old,” McLeod says. “A lot of my older patients have already looked at their blood work (in the portal) so that they’re prepared for their office visit. I had someone who said they cheated by looking in advance. I told them, ‘It’s not cheating. It’s your lab test.’ ”

Looking ahead, Dr. McLeod expects artificial intelligence to play a growing role in patient portals, including chatbots that can answer common questions, point users to helpful resources and guide patients on when to seek care.

“Obviously there will still always be the ability for folks to interact with human beings,” he says. “But you know, if a patient said, ‘I’ve read something online that ACE inhibitors have coughing as a side effect,’ the chatbot would be able to answer, ‘Yes, that is true; did I answer your question?’ ”

The health care business is still very much a human business. Patients shouldn’t be worried that portals will replace doctors, because they do have their limitations, McLeod says. They don’t always use the most patient-friendly language, which can confuse visitors who stumble across lab reports they don’t understand. 

Legislation requires patients receive immediate access to test results, and that can sometimes cause undue anxiety for patients who aren’t able to go over those results with their provider in-person. 

“People will sometimes get panicked because they’ll read information that they don’t know what to do with,” McLeod says. “It doesn’t replace the human interaction. There are some things you can do electronically, but it doesn’t replace the need to see folks in the office.” 

Patient Portal Tips: How to Use One to Your Advantage

• Log in before your visit. Reviewing test results, medications or visit summaries ahead of time can help you prepare better questions for your provider.

• Access it for routine needs. Portals work best for appointment requests, prescription refills, form completion and non-urgent questions.

• Know what not to use it for. Portals are not monitored 24/7. For urgent or emergency symptoms, always call your provider or seek immediate care.

• Don’t panic over medical language. Lab results and diagnoses may appear before your provider contacts you, and they may use clinical terms. If something is unclear, follow up rather than assume the worst.

• Take advantage of visit summaries. If you forget what was discussed — or want to share instructions with a family member — your portal can help jog your memory.

• Reset; don’t give up. Forgetting passwords is common. Most portals allow for easy resets, and office staff can help point you in the right direction.

• Use it your way. Whether you log in through an app on a smartphone or tablet, or a website on your computer, portals are meant to be accessible from anywhere.