Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

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Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

New Technology in Healthcare

Technology proves itself as an indispensable factor within contemporary innovative practices. Since most healthcare systems have adopted and embraced it, technology effectiveness is evident through reducing inefficiencies and optimizing health outcomes. That is why most nurse informaticists and other relevant healthcare stakeholders need to continue engaging in evidence-based practices that evaluate effective clinical systems that can easily be adopted and integrated in practice to enhance overall patient outcomes. In that regard, the patient portals are among healthcare providers and patients’ most effective and commonly used clinical systems. As a result, a variety of medical and nursing researchers have explored patient portals to assess their roles and importance in the healthcare technology realm. The paper will provide an annotated bibliography that evaluates patient portals as an effective technology that enhances efficiencies and outcomes. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

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Annotated Bibliography on Patient Portals

Han, H.-R., Gleason, K. T., Sun, C.-A., Miller, H. N., Kang, S. J., Chow, S., Anderson, R., Nagy, P., & Bauer, T. (2019). Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes: Systematic Review. JMIR Human Factors, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.2196/15038

With the advent of electronic health records (EHR), most attention is on ways the EHR system facilitates patients to be more active during care through secure patient portals. According to Han et al. (2019), the authors sought to address ways patient portals enhance overall patient outcomes. The authors’ findings are that patient portal interventions enhance positive psychological outcomes, particularly for adults seeking primary and outpatient care, including those within the surgery department. From the research, Han et al. (2019) identify that most patients with chronic illnesses such as cancer adhere to medication, thus improving overall health outcomes. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

Integrating patient portals with EHR makes efficiency evident through care providers’ and patients’ easy communication since they provide an accessible space that increases their interaction. Han et al. (2019) find that most articles they reviewed perceive patient portals as a platform facilitating a two-way communication channel while providing dissemination and recording avenues for important patient information. In that case, the lesson learned from the article is that healthcare organizations need to formulate effective means that increase and encourage patients’ participation in care to manage their conditions effectively.

Portz, J. D., Bayliss, E. A., Bull, S., Boxer, R. S., Bekelman, D. B., Gleason, K., & Czaja, S. (2019). Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Explore User Experience, Intent to Use, and Use Behavior of a Patient Portal Among Older Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions: Descriptive Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(4), e11604. https://doi.org/10.2196/11604 Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

Chronic illness management is a crucial factor in healthcare since it enables patients from diverse populations to cope, manage, and reduce instances of developing other comorbidities that may increase their mortality and morbidity rates. Portz et al. (2019) article assesses the drives toward acceptance of older adults’ intent and use behaviors towards a patient portal, particularly for those with multiple chronic conditions. From the authors’ perspective, patient portals provide modern and digital tools that resonate with older adults diagnosed with multiple chronic diseases in managing their health conditions. However, it is necessary to identify the different barriers that hinder older adults’ portal adoption. That includes portal user experience and interface since the improvement needs to be on patient portals’ acceptability, accessibility, and adoption. From their research, Portz et al. (2019) identify that medical lab results, pharmacy, and emails were popular with the older adult participants since they were easy to use. The main reason these features are popular among older adults is also linked to perceived increased patient-provider communication, fast medication management, and satisfaction with health information access.

Efficient clinical procedures and systems enable hospitals to minimize health costs. For instance, Portz et al. (2019) classify patient portals as instrumental in minimizing health costs since they greatly reduce prolonged hospitalization for patients with various complex conditions. One lesson that the article portrays concerns its enhancement of patient engagement, particularly for outpatient visits, since the healthcare providers can easily guide the patients to meet their emerging and unmet needs. Also, patient portals help manage the patients’ conditions and prevent unnecessary visits that may result in overcrowding. Such an instance makes the visits worthwhile since the healthcare facilities do not experience overcrowding, thus making healthcare providers provide quality and safe services. Hence, healthcare providers must prioritize patient portals as one of the existing tech-based clinical systems to achieve cost-effective, efficient, and effective care. Hence, healthcare providers must promote the adoption of easy-to-use and popular features of patient portals to foster patient satisfaction. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

Reed, M. E., Huang, J., Brand, R. J., Neugebauer, R., Graetz, I., Hsu, J., Ballard, D. W., & Grant, R. (2019). Patients with complex chronic conditions: Health care use and clinical events associated with access to a patient portal. PLOS ONE, 14(6), e0217636. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217636

Chronic conditions like diabetes result in higher morbidity and mortality rates, particularly if there is poor coordination and access to healthcare services. According to Reed et al. (2019), secure messaging is crucial to ascertain patient portal success. As a result, the authors, through their article, examine ways portal users integrate secure messaging in managing various chronic conditions like diabetes. Reeds et al. (2019) outline that electronic patient portals in most healthcare facilities are mainly linked to electronic health records ( EHRs). They intend to provide the patient population with secure access to their medical data, including managing various healthcare aspects using interactive tools. These interactive tools comprise visit summaries, lab result reviews, medication refill orders, and send secure messages to their providers.

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Hence, since secure messaging integrates asynchronous communication between healthcare providers and patients, the patients can easily open up to their providers, thus increasing the chances of positive patient outcomes. Also, Reeds et al. (2019) posit that healthy communication between patients and their care providers enhances patients’ approach to managing their chronic conditions. That is because the patients can request a visit extension, thus enhancing care coordination while facilitating collaboration with the patient’s families and caretakers. Therefore, healthcare organizations must ensure patients experience minimal inconveniences when using the portals. The main lesson from Reeds et al. (2019) article is on user experience importance since it facilitates effective patient portal use. Hence, healthcare providers attending patients with chronic illnesses need to ensure that they educate them on how to use the secure messaging platform effectively. Also, there is a need for healthcare organizations to assess possible technological barriers that may implicate patient portals’ overall effectiveness and design appropriate interventions. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

Stewart, M. T., Hogan, T. P., Nicklas, J., Robinson, S. A., Purington, C. M., Miller, C. J., Vimalananda, V. G., Connolly, S. L., Wolfe, H. L., Nazi, K. M., Netherton, D., & Shimada, S. L. (2020). The Promise of Patient Portals for Individuals Living With Chronic Illness: Qualitative Study Identifying Pathways of Patient Engagement. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(7), e17744. https://doi.org/10.2196/17744

Chronic illnesses pose a huge burden not only to the patients and their families but also to the healthcare professionals. Since the use of patient portals in managing chronic illnesses can never be underestimated, Stewart et al. (2020) evaluate ways electronic patient portals enhance patient engagement for diabetes patients. Generally, patient engagement is a crucial health-related component since it determines how the patient will relate with the healthcare providers while enhancing their overall care. As a result, the Stewart et al. (2020) article highlights that the patient portal role offers patients a reliable platform that increases their health condition understanding since they can ask health-related questions. Therefore, diabetes patients can easily engage with their providers and understand how to manage and control their conditions. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

Patient care becomes more efficient with decreased care coordination challenges and when patients and their care providers work closely together. Stewart et al. (2020) point out how patient portals enhance efficiencies through their secure and quick messaging platform that helps patients and care providers collaborate to meet their needs and preferences. The lesson gained from the Stewart et al. (2020) article is that healthcare facilities should encourage their providers to embrace patient portals and educate the patients on better ways to use them. That includes finding ways to increase the patients’ trust in the patients’ portals.

Conclusion

For patients to understand their conditions effectively and collaborate with care providers, they must be provided with the necessary support. The four peer-reviewed articles portray patient portals as crucial and valuable clinical systems for managing patients with chronic conditions. All these articles outline patient portals as essential in increasing communication and engagement between patients and providers. For instance, Stewart et al. (2020) evaluate ways electronic patient portals enhance patient engagement for diabetes patients, which they believe increases patient-provider communication. Also, Portz et al. (2019) indicate that a patient portal reduces healthcare costs since patients can easily book appointments, thus preventing overcrowding. However, for healthcare facilities to achieve that, Han et al. (2019) and Reed et al. (2019) indicate that they need to formulate effective means that increase and encourage patients’ participation in care to manage their conditions effectively. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion

References

New technologyâ€”and the application of existing technologyâ€”only appears in healthcare settings after careful and significant research. The stakes are high, and new clinical systems need to offer evidence of positive impact on outcomes or efficiencies.
Nurse informaticists and healthcare leaders formulate clinical system strategies. As these strategies are often based on technology trends, informaticists and others have then benefited from consulting existing research to inform their thinking.
In this Assignment, you will review existing research focused on the application of clinical systems. After reviewing, you will summarize your findings. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion
To Prepare:
â€¢ Review the Resources and reflect on the impact of clinical systems on outcomes and efficiencies within the context of nursing practice and healthcare delivery.
â€¢ Conduct a search for recent (within the last 5 years) research focused on the application of clinical systems. The research should provide evidence to support the use of one type of clinical system to improve outcomes and/or efficiencies, such as â€œthe use of personal health records or portals to support patients newly diagnosed with diabetes.â€
â€¢ Identify and select 4 peer-reviewed research articles from your research.
â€¢ For information about annotated bibliographies, visit https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/annotatedbibliographiesLinks to an external site.Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion
The Assignment: (4-5 pages not including the title and reference page)
In a 4- to 5-page paper, synthesize the peer-reviewed research you reviewed. Format your Assignment as an Annotated Bibliography. Be sure to address the following:
â€¢ Identify the 4 peer-reviewed research articles you reviewed, citing each in APA format.
â€¢ Include an introduction explaining the purpose of the paper.
â€¢ Summarize each study, explaining the improvement to outcomes, efficiencies, and lessons learned from the application of the clinical system each peer-reviewed article described. Be specific and provide examples.
â€¢ In your conclusion, synthesize the findings from the 4 peer-reviewed research articles.
â€¢ Use APA format and include a title page. Using Patient Portals to Improve Patient Outcomes Discussion