Patient portals have clear financial benefits, including faster and more complete patient payments, patient loyalty, reduced staff work as patients can self-serve and improved outcomes, according to a report from athenaResearch.

Portals also improve patient engagement which can improve outcomes.

Meaningful Use drove patient portal adoption, first requiring providers to have a percentage of patients using the tool and now rewarding providers who provide digital access to patients. These other benefits regarding loyalty and payment are more valuable than incentive payment, according to the report.

Practices that increased portal adoption rates by 20 percent or more over 12 months saw a median increase in patient pay yield of nearly 5 percent.

Patients with portal accounts return to a primary care practice within 18 months 80 percent of the time, compared to only 67 percent of the time for patients that do not create portal accounts.

Portal adopters see their primary care providers more regularly with 30 percent of portal users having at least one annual visit over three years, compared with 19 percent of non-portal users.

Portals improve patient retention and yield financial benefits for practices. New patients who return to a practice at least once generate more than $800 in ambulatory practice collections over a 3-year period; compared to $147 for those that do not return after an initial visit.

“Physician practices are only beginning to unlock the value of patient portals,” the report concludes. As portals offer more and more features they will play an increasingly important role in improving patient-provider communication and helping patients manage their health. The return on investment is relatively quick—practices that get their patients signed up and ensure a positive experience “are likely to see measurable benefits in the short term.”