“In a report released earlier this year, the GAO found that just 15% of hospital patients accessed their medical
records, even though 88% of hospitals offer access. A third accessed medical
information from physician practices.
Carolyn Yocom, a
director in the GAO’s healthcare team, said in an audio interview in the
post that poor interoperability is another roadblock to access, which is especially
frustrating when they're trying to prepare for an appointment or, worse, in an
emergency.
Providers should make it easy
for patients to access everything they need in one place to avoid a frustrating
experience, Yocom said.”
I can tell you from front line experience, the
majority of patients do not like the portal and there are many reasons. The
reasons that I have heard include:
1)
I don’t use the internet
2)
Your portal uses cookies, I don’t do cookies
3)
There are too many portals. I can’t remember all the
passwords.
4)
I don’t have a computer, only my phone (Portals do not
work on phones).
5)
I want to talk to my doctor.
6)
I want to talk to a nurse about my lab work.
7)
It is too complicated and takes too much time.
8)
The government can track me; I don’t want my
information on the internet.
So Carolyn Yocom says that “Providers should make it
easier for patients…” WAIT, WHAT?
Does Ms. Yocom know that Doctors did not write the
code for the EMR’s that support the Patient Portals? Doctors were only told by
the government to buy these expensive EMR’s and provide the service to their
patients. If the Doctors did/do not do this, then they can face reductions in
their insurance reimbursements in the future. So as good Doctors we bought the
EMR’s and we have established portals for our patients to use.
However, as this article points out, nobody bothered
checking with patients if they would like to have a portal. It seems patients
are not thrilled with this government mandate, as we experience daily with very
loud and angry complaints.
On behalf of all Doctors and Medical Offices in
America Ms. Yocom, I will not let you lay the blame for this disaster on our
doorstep. It was the government that mandated the creation of Portals and it
was the Coders who developed the Portals.
So, to Ms. Yocom I respond, “The Government and Coders
should make it easy for patients to access everything they need in one place to
avoid a frustrating experience; the Doctors have done all they can.”