The Importance of Patient Portal Usability

The following is a guest article by Dr. Bruce Bassi, Advisory Board Member at CharmHealth Most patients have almost certainly received an invitation to join their electronic medical record communication system, or portal for their particular doctor’s office. Clinicians have their own opinions about medical record systems, but what about patients? Typically, users log into their portal with one specific purpose, then log off, and do not wish to spend too much time engaging in a health portal system. If the system is too cumbersome or difficult to use, it would reduce engagement and not achieve its intended purpose. The primary intended purpose of the portal should be communicated to the patient. For example, if the clinic uses the portal for its primary method of communication, appointment requests, billing, and refill requests, then the patient should be made aware of this and be required to make an account on the portal. Ease of Use of a Patient Portal Unlike clinicians, patients do not expect there to be any onboarding or training associated with using the portal. Therefore, it is paramount that the portal system uses standard representations of visual elements and functionality. Labels, icons, and layouts need to be typical of what the average user is expecting. Most users have familiarity with using email systems such as Gmail, so labels and layouts that closely mimic an email system are most easily understood. Portals may perpetuate treatment inequalities in favor of t...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Clinical Communication and Patient Experience EMR-EHR Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Care Team CharmHealth Dr. Bruce Bassi HIPAA patient access Patient Portal Prescription Source Type: blogs