Fix My Practice –3 Tips for Patient Portal Engagement
The Physicians Practice S.O.S. Group® www.ppsosgroup.com
Two-thirds of the practices that participated in the 2017 Physicians Practice Technology Survey said that getting patients to sign up and use patient portals consistently is a challenge. Is this the case for your practice, if so, try these 3 simple tips to help get your patients more involved in the process?
Within these 3 things make sure you market and/or talk about the benefits, not just the features and get the staff involved in that process, for instance:
- Have staff members from the front to the checkout promote the patient portal throughout the patient’s visit. Every staff member should have a script to talk up the patient portal to patients, and is ready to list benefits items that is available in the portal.
- For instance, a front office staff member might ask how did you make your appointment, and then let the patient know they can request appointment via the portal and even receive appointment reminders by email.
- When patients are checking out, staff and tell the patient they’ll be able to pay their bills online if there is a balance after the insurance.
- When someone calls for Rx refill, the Medical Assistant may tell them about the benefits of requesting this via the patient portal.
- Use every patient handout, paperwork or marketing collateral to promote the patient portal.
- Add a line to bills letting patients know they can pay online using the portal and include a note on patient education flyers that they can access more helpful information in their portal.
In promoting the use, offer incentives that the staff also promote to the patients during their visit and those incentives include entering their name into a monthly prize drawing if they schedule an appointment online or do a Rx refill request.
Regina Mixon Bates, CEO | The Physicians Practice S.O.S. Group | www.ppsosgroup.com
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