Patient portals are supposed to connect patients with your practice. Features that let patients schedule appointments, view lab results and access educational materials are a given. But if such features are the industry standard, what sets an exceptional patient portal apart from the rest?
The answer is usability. Without great usability, patients aren’t likely to access the portal regularly. Subsequently eliminating the time and money-saving benefits gained by allowing patients to handle certain tasks like scheduling their own appointments.
Unfortunately, usability often takes a back seat for vendors that have a singular focus on developing new features. So today, we look at two attributes that make a patient portal relevant to today’s patients.
Mobile Capabilities
According to a 2012 Pew Research Center study, 55% of U.S. adult cell phone owners use the Internet on their mobile phones, with 31% of those saying they access the internet more often on their phone than at a computer.
When combined with findings from another Pew study that found 80% of all Internet users gather health information online, it becomes apparent that Americans are ready to access patient portals through their mobile devices.
Yet, many vendors have failed to create patient portals with a mobile interface.
Standard web pages simply don’t display well when condensed to cell phone screen sizes or take up too much bandwidth to display at all. This is the reason most major banks have different interfaces for computer-based online banking and mobile device-based online banking.
Imagine trying to complete banking transactions on a mobile device without a mobile interface. The page would be too small and take eons to load. Likewise, patients feel the same way on a patient portal with no mobile interface.
Design
The same primary design rules for regular websites apply to patient portals as well. The design needs to be simple, clean, and intuitive.
It’s best to think of patient portals as another form of social media. When broken down to their most basic functions, portals are simply sites where interactions occur. That’s why portals that look similar in appearance to websites like Facebook and Google+ are ideal.
A well-designed patient portal is considered invisible, which is actually a good thing. It means patients are performing tasks on the portal without even thinking about it. The process should flow naturally to the point where patients operate the portal almost mindlessly.
Portal design should also be aesthetically pleasing since they are a patient-facing medium. It’s another representation of your practice, so choose a portal that will look impressive to current and potential patients.
Of course, mobile capabilities and design aren’t the only things worth paying attention to when looking into a patient portal. Factors such as integration with your EHR and price matter should be taken into consideration as well. But don’t forget, getting your patients to use the portal is the most important of all.
Integrated patient portals are one thing to look for in an EHR. What are some others? Check out our Definitive EHR Buying Guide to find out.
