Portals improve outcomes, reduce costs
CHICAGO--Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been successfully using a patient portal for 10 years and other facilities should plan for their own portal, according to speakers during a session at the 84th American Health Information Management Association Convention & Exhibit.
Nashville-based VUMC’s patient portal allows users to:
Most of the information available today is outpatient clinical information but it will expand both for Meaningful Use purposes and because patients want access.
Not every visit can be handled through a portal, Reeves said, but many can and that offers quicker results while eliminating the cost of seeing the doctor in person.
The portal, MyHealthAtVanderbilt, offers several benefits to the organization as well. The literature indicates that patients will switch providers to access a portal, Reeves said. Currently VUMC is the only facility in Nashville with a portal so she feels that it's helping with patient loyalty. The portal can help attract new patients and referrals, retain employees, assist with organization reputation and keep a focus on healthy habits and wellness and prevention. “All of these reasons are very compelling,” she said.
Almost 200,000 individuals are registered users of the portal and more than 5,000 users access the site on peak days, said Anne Dixon, VUMC’s HIM manager. That is about the same number of clinic visits the organization has per day.
From the patient’s perspective, VUMC’s HIM staff manages the portal. The department staff has become super users so they can answer patients’ questions and enable patients to get the information they need quickly and easily. “If there is a technical problem within the system, often it’s my employees who alert the programmers because they’re the first to get the call for help from patients.”
The portals are interactive, not static, Dixon said, with information constantly flowing. “Patients are very excited about the opportunities the portal brings them, such as fast interaction. The number of users has increased by 25 percent each of the last four years, she said. Any patient can sign up for limited access but they have to come in in person and show ID to get bumped up to full access. Some complain about that but HIM staffers simply explain that they are trying to protect patient privacy.
VUMC conducted a hypertension study to determine whether the portal could help increased control. At the start of the study – 35 percent of included patients had their high blood pressure under control. Patients entered their daily blood pressure readings and a nurse contacted them several times. After only 4.6 weeks, the rate of control shot up to 83 percent. That pilot study has since been expanded.
“Think about the potential savings to your facility,” said Dixon. If you consider 10,000 hypertensive patients, “through avoidance of strokes and myocardial infarction alone, that results in five-year cost per patient drop of 26 percent which totals $15 million.” And that doesn’t include savings from avoiding emergency room visits or admissions.
The team approach of having patients input certain readings to the portal and a nurse follows up, “doubles the number of patients we can treat.” The study has been expanded to patients with diabetes and heart failure. Because of the pilot, the facility received an $18.8 million grant to improve chronic disease management.
VUMC “has proven that engaging the patient reduces cost,” said Dixon.
In the future, VUMC plans to enhance the portal with patient-entered medication reminders, alerts sent per patient preference, patient-entered family history information stored in a structured way, videoconferencing e-visits and patient decision support tools.
The patient portal is a powerful communication tool that increases efficiency and improves the bottom line, said Reeves. “It gives patients faster, more secure access to their medical information and their provider in the comfort of their home. And, we’ve proven that it helps patients better manage their health.”
Nashville-based VUMC’s patient portal allows users to:
- view test results
- send and receive secure messages with their provider’s office
- request new appointments and view existing appointments
- view personal medical information (immunizations, weight, allergies, medication list, problem/diagnosis list)
- pay bills
- read relevant medical information
- assign delegates
- automatic preventive health reminders
- access pre-visit questionnaires
- track daily screenings such as weight, glucose and blood pressure readings
Most of the information available today is outpatient clinical information but it will expand both for Meaningful Use purposes and because patients want access.
Not every visit can be handled through a portal, Reeves said, but many can and that offers quicker results while eliminating the cost of seeing the doctor in person.
The portal, MyHealthAtVanderbilt, offers several benefits to the organization as well. The literature indicates that patients will switch providers to access a portal, Reeves said. Currently VUMC is the only facility in Nashville with a portal so she feels that it's helping with patient loyalty. The portal can help attract new patients and referrals, retain employees, assist with organization reputation and keep a focus on healthy habits and wellness and prevention. “All of these reasons are very compelling,” she said.
Almost 200,000 individuals are registered users of the portal and more than 5,000 users access the site on peak days, said Anne Dixon, VUMC’s HIM manager. That is about the same number of clinic visits the organization has per day.
From the patient’s perspective, VUMC’s HIM staff manages the portal. The department staff has become super users so they can answer patients’ questions and enable patients to get the information they need quickly and easily. “If there is a technical problem within the system, often it’s my employees who alert the programmers because they’re the first to get the call for help from patients.”
The portals are interactive, not static, Dixon said, with information constantly flowing. “Patients are very excited about the opportunities the portal brings them, such as fast interaction. The number of users has increased by 25 percent each of the last four years, she said. Any patient can sign up for limited access but they have to come in in person and show ID to get bumped up to full access. Some complain about that but HIM staffers simply explain that they are trying to protect patient privacy.
VUMC conducted a hypertension study to determine whether the portal could help increased control. At the start of the study – 35 percent of included patients had their high blood pressure under control. Patients entered their daily blood pressure readings and a nurse contacted them several times. After only 4.6 weeks, the rate of control shot up to 83 percent. That pilot study has since been expanded.
“Think about the potential savings to your facility,” said Dixon. If you consider 10,000 hypertensive patients, “through avoidance of strokes and myocardial infarction alone, that results in five-year cost per patient drop of 26 percent which totals $15 million.” And that doesn’t include savings from avoiding emergency room visits or admissions.
The team approach of having patients input certain readings to the portal and a nurse follows up, “doubles the number of patients we can treat.” The study has been expanded to patients with diabetes and heart failure. Because of the pilot, the facility received an $18.8 million grant to improve chronic disease management.
VUMC “has proven that engaging the patient reduces cost,” said Dixon.
In the future, VUMC plans to enhance the portal with patient-entered medication reminders, alerts sent per patient preference, patient-entered family history information stored in a structured way, videoconferencing e-visits and patient decision support tools.
The patient portal is a powerful communication tool that increases efficiency and improves the bottom line, said Reeves. “It gives patients faster, more secure access to their medical information and their provider in the comfort of their home. And, we’ve proven that it helps patients better manage their health.”
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.