Can patient portals improve your clinic’s overall performance? We look at the pros and cons below.
Picture this: You have a new patient come in for a consultation. As the health care provider, you try to find out a patient’s medical history through a series of questions. It takes a while to get to the bottom of things in order to see the bigger picture and recommend an appropriate remedy. The next thing you know, you’re going over your allotted time per patient. This causes delays and long wait times that affect both patients and health care providers.
Enter the patient portal software—a new tool utilized by service providers to improve client satisfaction and streamline clinic activities. We take a closer look below at the platform, and its pros and cons.
A closer look
A patient portal software is an online tool where patients—and health care providers alike—can track medical history, medications, lab results, and other necessary information. Through this, patients can easily schedule appointments while service providers are able to get a glimpse of a patient’s overall health.
Fortunately, online tools like Demandforce provide end-to-end solutions for your business—from appointment scheduling, schedule reminders, to even patient portals provisions.
Key Benefits
Patient portal software provides numerous benefits for your practice. This includes:
Better communication between patients and healthcare providers
With an online portal, patients can book an appointment anytime, anywhere, and can get a hold of your office at their most convenient time. This minimizes multiple exchanges with your front desk to find a common schedule.
Another way it improves customer engagement is through appointment reminders. Reminding patients of their upcoming visits prevent last-minute cancellations and can aid in establishing better client relationships.
Overview of appointments
A patient portal software provides your business and your clients a dashboard where you can view upcoming appointments. Patients can even request and confirm appointments from different service providers directly on the platform.
Direct messaging
Need to request a refill for your prescribed medication? Or do you need to send your service provider access to your lab results? All of that is possible with Demandforce’s secure messaging function where service providers and patients can directly send messages to each other.
Challenges
Some patients may not be as tech-savvy
While this can be beneficial for their overall medical journey, some patients may need assistance in navigating the platform. And if your business is consistently dealing with patients who are not as tech-savvy, it’s important to consider the user interface of the platform. Simple, straightforward, and user-friendly software should always be your best bet.
Patients may be apprehensive to have their medical records stored online
Having personal data stored online makes some clients apprehensive to use digital platforms. When picking a patient portal software, make sure that they can provide a secure platform that can prevent data breaches. Also, don’t forget to be transparent with your patients that their information will only be used to improve their experience with your business.
Final Thoughts
Of course, obtaining software solutions like this is an investment and needs to be considered. Ease of use, user interface, user experience, and security for your staff and your patients are important factors as well. While not all platforms can address your concerns, operationalizing and streamlining your current process can provide overall benefits to your practice.
