Patient portals promise efficiency and convenience, a solid way for healthcare professional to communicate, and a gateway for patients to follow their own medical history. Patient portals have become much more commonplace under the Meaningful Use Incentive Program, which breaks patient engagement into two stages. Stage 1 requires providers to offer electronic copies of test results, discharge summaries and the like when the patient requests it. Stage 2 goes further by requiring physicians to offer online access of medical records to more than 50 percent of unique patients seen by clinicians. The most efficient way to do this is through the patient portal. But even as the convenience of patient portals makes it clear that they are a step forward for patient and physician, privacy concerns threaten to overshadow the convenience that the portals provide. By Shannon Lee
By Shannon Lee
Patient portals promise efficiency and convenience, a solid way for healthcare professional to communicate, and a gateway for patients to follow their own medical history. Patient portals have become much more commonplace under the Meaningful Use Incentive Program, which breaks patient engagement into two stages. Stage 1 requires providers offer electronic copies of test results, discharge summaries, and the like when the patient requests it. Stage 2 goes further by requiring physicians offer online access of medical records to more than 50 percent of unique patients seen by clinicians.
The most efficient way to do this is through the patient portal. But even as the convenience of patient portals makes it clear that they are a step forward for patient and physician, privacy concerns threaten to overshadow the convenience that the portals provide.
Patient portals and privacy concerns
Premier Family Physicians of Austin, TX currently uses a portal to connect with 20,000 patients on a daily basis. Hundreds of requests pour in every day, including prescription refills, questions for providers, appointment requests, and more. David McCormick, the chief operations and technology officer for Premier Family Physicians, has no concerns about the privacy of the portal. "The ubiquity of Internet technology for all kinds of sensitive data has reduced the concern of our patients," McCormick said. "We also live in a very tech-savvy city where our patients expect their doctors to embrace and champion technology that increases access and convenience."
Though patient privacy is well-protected on the physician's end of the portal, what happens to the information once it is released becomes a concern. According to the Health Care Compliance Association, four serious privacy issues include the risk of information being intercepted during transmission to the portal, unauthorized access, security issues with the Internet interface, and problems with the Internet vendor's software that might not be caught without independent testing. Beyond those issues are those that can occur with regular use, such as a patient losing their smartphone on which their portal login information is stored.
There are several ways to lessen these privacy concerns. When medical records can be accessed from anywhere, it leaves them open to being seen by those who are not authorized to do so, such as other family members or those who use the same computer. Choosing the proper authentication procedures for portal users is key to reducing or eliminating this privacy risk. Regular auditing of medical records and ensuring protection of the servers are also steps that can reduce risk. Educating patients on how to best keep their records secure after logging into the portal might also go a long way toward keeping electronic health records as private as possible.
Convenience and accuracy reign supreme
Despite the privacy concerns that might arise with patient portals, the convenience and opportunity to verify accuracy of records has already led many patients to embrace them. David Voran, M.D., a family practitioner at Heartland Clinic/Mosaic Life Care of Platte City, MO, has been using patient portals since 2007, and has seen the convenience and time-saving qualities firsthand.
"[We] treated a patient's cellulitis virtually without having to inconvenience him with an office visit, as that would've delayed care," Voran said. "He kept me, his primary care physician, and two other physicians (infectious disease and an internist) copied on every message, complete with serial photographs." Rather than spending the time and energy to go into the office for treatment, the patient was able to get what he needed with a few clicks of a mouse.
Voran points out that many hours of physician and nurse time – in his office alone, between six and eight hours per week – can be saved through patients turning to the portal instead of calling to speak to a nurse. This equals more convenience for healthcare professionals, who can use that extra time to deal with other pressing responsibilities.
In addition to convenience, patient portals might also lead to more accuracy in medical records. In 2011, the Mayo Clinic launched a patient portal, which is used by about 260,000 patients today. The Mayo Clinic has seen a 100 percent increase in record amendment requests from patients since the portal began, according to Healthcare Info Security.
One surprising outcome of electronic records has been the request for paper copies. Since the Mayo Clinic launched their patient portal, the request for paper records has increased by 50 percent. This suggests that even though electronic health records are paving the way to making healthcare even more tech-savvy, nothing beats the security of having those medical records, in hard copy, right in the hands of patients.
About the Author
Shannon Lee has been writing professionally for two decades on a wide variety of topics, including medical and health issues, education, home repair and relationships. She contributes to several websites, including AlliedHealthWorld.com.
