Patient portals have become a useful tool in primary care across the United States. These online systems let patients see their health information, talk to doctors, make appointments, check lab results, and manage medicines. But not all patient groups use these portals the same way. Understanding these differences is important for healthcare managers who want to improve how care is given and how offices work. By looking closely at how different patients use portal features and studying the effects on services, medical office managers can change workflows to better meet patient needs and run offices more smoothly.
This article looks at key results from a big study at University of Florida Health. It used data from 46,544 primary care patients about their portal use. It also talks about how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation help with patient engagement and office management.
A main finding from the University of Florida Health study was that signing up for patient portals and how often they are used do not always match. This means that patients who create portal accounts do not always use them often or check all the features.
Patients who have ongoing health issues were less likely to sign up for portals in the first place. The study showed odds ratios between 0.57 and 0.86 for portal signup by patients with many health problems. This means these patients were less likely to register. However, after they signed up, they used portal functions more often. Their odds ratios for frequent use were between 1.37 and 1.76. This shows that seriously ill or chronic patients who get past the first step tend to stay active in managing their health via the portal.
On the other hand, patients on Medicare were less likely to sign up for portals (odds ratio 0.47). This may be because of age or trouble using technology. But after they registered, they sent more messages through the portal (odds ratio 1.44). This means that the group who might benefit most from portals faces challenges in signing up but uses the tools actively once they do.
The study found that some portal features, such as messaging and checking lab results, had a clear positive impact on patients keeping appointments. Patients who used these features more often missed fewer appointments or failed to show up less than those mostly using other features like medication or scheduling.
Effects changed over time and showed that being active on the portal can help patients use primary care services better. Good portal use makes it easier to communicate on time and follow up as needed. Medical office managers and IT teams should focus patient communication on messaging and lab result alerts to help patients stick to their appointments.
The study brought up a big concern: the people who would benefit most from portal features are less likely to sign up or use the portal. Patients with many health conditions need frequent communication and care coordination. But they often do not activate portals, likely because of challenges like trouble using digital tools, mistrust in technology, or portals being too hard to use.
Healthcare planners and managers should work to remove these barriers. This could mean offering patient education programs, making portal interfaces simpler, supporting multiple languages, and giving patients personal help to learn how to use portals. Helping high-need patients get started on portals may lower missed appointments and improve health results.
Also, to improve workflows in clinics, it is important for healthcare managers to include portal adoption and use in care plans. Connecting electronic health records (EHR) with portal data lets doctors and staff see patient needs in real time and answer messages or alerts quickly.
AI and automation are playing a growing part in changing healthcare management. They help with patient communication and office workflows. AI tools like those made by Simbo AI can automate phone answering and front-desk work. This reduces the workload on staff.
Medical assistants who handle calls, patient questions, and scheduling benefit from these AI tools. AI chatbots work all day and night to answer common questions, set appointments, and send medicine reminders. This helps patients wait less and have fewer missed calls and delays.
Generative AI can also improve how patient notes are made. It listens to talks between patients and staff and then creates clear, detailed notes automatically. This reduces the paperwork for staff and makes sure important patient info is saved. That lets healthcare workers spend more time on patient care and planning treatments.
AI also spots health risk patterns by studying patient data and communication trends. This helps clinics act early for patients who may face health problems. AI automation in tasks like managing charts, tracking supplies, flagging billing errors, and scheduling helps offices work better with fewer mistakes and smoother operations.
A common example is the use of AI chatbots in patient portals to handle appointment scheduling and reminders. Since more patients use portals for messaging and lab checks, chatbots can sort patient questions about test results or medicine refills. They send complex questions to staff and answer simple ones automatically.
AI-based analytics look at how patients use portals and their health data to find those at risk of missing appointments or not managing chronic diseases well. Staff can then reach out to give support or help early, which lowers missed visits and emergency room trips.
In clinics with many phone calls, AI systems using natural language processing (NLP) can understand what callers need. They provide answers and set or change appointments without needing a person. Using these tools helps offices use staff time better, cut patient wait times, and improve satisfaction.
The main goal for medical office managers and owners should be to create workflows that focus on patients, run well, and can change as patient behavior changes. Studying patient portal use shows the need to remove barriers and encourage regular use, especially of communication tools like messaging and lab result viewing.
Using AI and automation helps by giving patients continual access, cutting office delays, and improving accuracy in records. Technology investments should come with staff training and clear talks with patients. This creates a healthcare experience that is easy to use and fast to respond.
Healthcare IT managers in the U.S. should focus on connecting portal data with systems like EHRs, scheduling software, and patient management tools. This lets digital tools and people work together better, helping with decisions and patient involvement.
The data from many patient portal users and the power of AI tools give clear advice for healthcare managers. By learning how different patients behave, fixing signup problems, and using AI workflow automation, healthcare leaders and IT teams can make offices work better and help improve health care across the country.
The study aims to investigate the characteristics of primary care patients using different patient portal functions and the impact of various portal usage behaviors on primary care service utilization and appointment adherence.
A retrospective observational study analyzed a dataset of 46,544 primary care patients from University of Florida Health, focusing on metrics of portal adoption and usage.
A patient portal user is defined as a patient who has opened and maintained an active portal account during the study period.
Interestingly, the number of active health problems negatively affected portal adoption but positively influenced actual portal usage.
Enrollment in Medicare was negatively associated with portal adoption but positively linked to messaging usage among users.
The study found notable improvements in appointment adherence, particularly among patients frequently using messaging and laboratory functions.
It highlights that patients exhibit varied portal adoption and usage behaviors, indicating that the effects of portal use are heterogeneous and dynamic.
The study suggests healthcare planners should eliminate barriers to adoption for patients who could benefit the most from using portals.
By incorporating portal usage impacts into care coordination and workflow designs, healthcare providers can better align functionalities with patient and provider needs.
The study raises concerns that those who could benefit the most from patient portals are often not the active adopters, indicating a mismatch in the market.
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