The latest version of Meaningful Use Stage 2 was recently released (see Ben Dillon’s blog post ), and there are two items related to how patients access health information and providers online that I found fascinating. The proposed rule requires that online access to health information and secure messaging be available to 50 percent of patients and – more importantly – 10 percent of patients must use them.

We Can Do Better!

Meaningful Use Stage 1 rules required hospitals and eligible providers to make information available to patients in an electronic format. What sounded like a promising step forward for patients has turned out to be nothing more than files delivered on CD-ROMs or via a “secret,” un-promoted patient portal. In short, it was only marginally better than the current medical records request process.

We can do better, right? Allowing patients to digitally access health information isn’t easy, but we’re committed to solving this in a way that puts consumers at the center of the experience.

To help health consumers understand the benefits of actually using your patient portal, you’ll have to focus on more than just the clinical and I.T. aspects. You’ll need to focus on the patient experience too. It’s essential that you create a value proposition that convinces patients to adopt your technology. This means implementing software that makes it easy for consumers to interact with your organization and retrieve their health information.

Geonetric’s Patient Portal Enhances the Patient Experience

Geonetric’s Patient Portal has always been focused on the patient experience – ensuring health consumers can find and use the information sent from their providers. It’s easy for patients to use and helps you take a gradual engagement approach to adopting the technology.

The portal includes functionality, such as secure messaging, electronic health records, chronic disease management diaries, device support software, and health risk assessments to help providers monitor and control patient behavior. It also provides patients with clinical summaries, electronic copies of their health records, timely access to electronic information and patient-specific educational resources to help patients improve their health. Our portal is ONC-ATCB certified and meets current meaningful use requirements for engaging patients and families. It’s also built to be flexible so it can support the Meaningful Use Stage 2 regulatory decisions as they are finalized.

If you’re looking to implement a consumer portal for a more personalized Web experience, or a full-fledged patient portal integrated with your electronic medical system to deliver clinical data, talk to us about our portal solutions.