Patients Want To Communicate With You Online, Will Pay For It
and
It Influences Their Decision On Which Doctor To Select A
recent HarrisInteractive™ poll indicates that almost all patients (90%) want
to communicate with their doctors online. More than 70% of patients wanted all
of the following: to be able to have care provided where a physical visit wasn't
required; to receive test results, to be able to refill prescriptions and to fix
appointments.
Furthermore, over a third (37%) are willing to pay to communicate online with
their doctors. Over 55% of patients indicate that if one doctor offered online
communication and another did not, then this would influence their decision making
in selecting a doctor. Clearly, the benefits of convenience, improved access,
and aggravation with the present system are driving patients' responses.
In the past, doctors have indicated concerns over privacy, security, and lack
of reimbursement as impediments to offering email communication with patients.
Quite frankly, we agree that these are major reasons not to use email. Not many
doctors want to do more work these days for no more pay. Answering non-reimbursed
questions from time sensitive patients is one more thing to do that most physicians
don't exactly want. The fact that email usage is so low among physicians illustrates
that this line of thinking is not just theory. Patients obviously though are asking
doctors to change. Thankfully, today there are alternatives that are secure, protect
patients privacy, and can lead to both increased efficiencies and reimbursement
to physicians. Security
One of the key differences in these new systems and email is that these
applications keep all of the data behind password protected, encrypted walls.
In these closed loop systems, patients enter information after registering only
via securely encrypted connections between their computer and a server. Providers
have access to this information only via a secure connection and only after entering
appropriate identification and password information. Email is only used to notify
patients to log into the doctor’s website to view responses. No health information
is ever exposed to the open Internet. Efficiency
Additionally, patients are driven to fill in structured forms to expedite
data gathering. Clearly, this is much superior to the free form, unstructured
rambling common in email or even voice mail setups. By having structured data
presented clearly, these systems allow providers to take action quickly based
on the type of request. When a healthcare request versus an administrative request
is the issue, there are additional benefits of quality of care by making sure
that all the proper questions are asked regarding the particular condition. Payment
Furthermore, online credit card system capabilities not only make it
efficient to process payment, but also allow physicians a measure of confidence
in the actual identity of the patient. In the traditional office setting, most
providers are aware of the lack of controls on checking identification. The online
environment allows for checking by name, street address, zip code, etc. As a side
benefit, physicians will only see patients when they know the patient's payment
if forthcoming. Likewise, insurers nationwide have begun to not only pay for these
types of interactions, but actually have been promoting their use to employers
who gain obvious benefits. Documentation
Finally, expert systems can be employed in the patient interviewing process
that allow for excellent documentation. As each communication is appended to the
encounter, documentation is actually generated by the process itself. "He said,
She said" is eliminated. Because of the benefits of reduction of transcription
costs, time saved in traditional visits and improved documentation, these systems
have even made their way into the traditional setting as pre-registration modules.
Some malpractice carriers have actually provided discounts for these types of
systems. There
are many other efficiencies that can be generated by communicating with patients
online besides the revenue benefits. Physicians, for instance, can typically complete
a patient interaction in several minutes and on a productivity basis earn much
more per hour. Times are changing. Those doctors offering this type of communication
clearly stand to have an advantage as online interactions become more commonplace.
Communication technologies over the years from the telephone to the fax have dramatically
changed the delivery of healthcare - perhaps the Internet will actually bring
the house call back into vogue. About
Medfusion, Inc.
Medfusion provides secure website services to physicians
including interactive communication solutions utilizing telephone and web-based
technology. For
questions about how Medfusion may be able to help your practice,
please contact
us at (877) 599-5123 or impteam@medfusion.net. | 
