Practice Makes Perfect: Embrace the new era of online patient technologies

In June 2014, the Medical Group Management Association released the results of a questionnaire that ranked members' most pressing practice management challenges. In this edition of “Practice Makes Perfect,” we'll tackle No. 13 on that list: Leveraging new technologies to enhance patient communication.

It's no secret that technology is changing how medical practices work. Electronic health records have already altered workflows, from the waiting room through discharge. But technology is also changing how patients interact with the practice, even influencing patients' decisions on which providers to use. Patients of all ages are looking at functionality that improves the way in which they can interact with their healthcare providers through a practice's online presence. According to some studies, patients' interest in online services is greatly outpacing the ability of practices to offer them.

It won't stop there. Patients are already taking this further by contributing information directly to their charts through portal forms and interfaces with devices they wear. Medical practices should evaluate and embrace technologies that allow for enhanced communication with their patients. Some of these technologies are becoming commonplace and even expected by patients.

For many practices attesting for Stage 2 meaningful use of their EHR systems, an online portal for granting patient access to medical records was a necessary requirement. However, many providers with whom I've worked now see it as an integral way to effectively connect with patients and exchange administrative and clinical information. For example, patients can schedule appointments, complete forms and pay their bills, all from their home computer or mobile device. Patients can now use portals to access lab results 24/7, reducing practices' need to “chase” patients on the phone. Some online portals also offer the ability to trend outcomes over time, offering practitioners an important clinical tool. Practices have typically given patients a numerical result for tests, such as LDL count or an A1c level. But imagine a patient viewing the result on a line graph that demonstrates his or her level being in the normal range but having increased considerably over the past 18 months.

I observed an initial hesitancy to give patients the ability to directly access a provider through messaging, but I believe that concern has waned. Physicians feared spending too much time working through their in-boxes and at one point actively pushed back against diagnosing via e-mail. However, as they have incorporated secure messaging functionality, again required in Stage 2 meaningful use, practices have begun to realize gains in administrative efficiency. Practices implementing secure messaging have noticed a reduction in phone calls, freeing up support staff to perform other tasks.

One of the more significant proposed requirements of Stage 3 meaningful use involves the use of patient-generated health data. The proposal calls on eligible professionals to incorporate patient-generated data or information from a nonclinical setting into the EHR for more than 15% of all unique patients seen during the EHR reporting period. This is information that patients contribute to their own medical records by either completing intake forms directly on the portal or using a device that uploads data through the Web. From a practical standpoint, patient-generated data can provide benefits to the practice such as capturing information about how patients are faring between medical visits and the ability to gather information on an ongoing basis, permitting the practice to employ trending and analytics.

The good news about this brave new world of online patient technologies is that practices don't have to dive in all at once. To gauge technology's impact on your staff and workflow, start slowly. Give portal access to a limited segment of your patient population. Offer 100 to 300 patients a user name and password. Test these efforts and see how patients adapt and respond.

Every day, more patients become aware of the benefits of using these tools, and many now expect online functionality. If you don't have plans to adopt them, your practice may fall behind.

Derek Kosiorek is a principal consultant at MGMA Health Care Consulting Group.