Most industry changes leading to patient data access came by way of Meaningful Use. In the future, changes in the patient portal market will be driven by a series of marketplace dynamics. What does the market think of patient engagement? For the answer to this question it is best to refer to a report by Frost & Sullivan entitled “U.S. Patient Portal Market for Hospitals and Physicians: Overview and Outlook, 2012-2017\0x2033.
“The need to fully engage patients as a member of the care team is fundamentally about encouraging individuals to become more involved with their healthcare, so they will be motivated to make behavioral changes that can positively impact their health status. That need will only grow as the healthcare system moves towards accountable care and value-based reimbursement. The importance of this movement cannot be underestimated.”
While it is predicted that hospitals will continue to make steady progress towards MU2 attestation, they will receive low patient adoption rates, which will force the industry to rethink patient engagement. Here are 7 features the market wants to see in your patient portal:
- Telehealth that moves beyond the virtual visit
- Dynamic scheduling:
- Social collaboration
- Gamification and serious games
- Avatars for personalized health coaching
- Health information exchange across diverse care settings
- Integration of clinical and financial data
Analysts have suggested that by the end of 2019, 66% of health systems will offer digital self-scheduling and 64% of patients will book appointments digitally. This will result in $3.2 billion in value in cost reduction. It’s estimated that 75% of all hospital readmissions are preventable.
