With multiple theories on patient care doing the rounds, there are no fixed dos for patient portal software. Instead, we should forces on the don’ts.
Patient care is an important part of the healthcare sector. It is aimed to humanize healthcare, putting the focus on the patients while building a long-term relationship with them. This has also given rise to several patient portal software.
Unfortunately, it is also hard to pin down one perfect means of achieving this. Since patient care is fairly subjective, multiple methods and theories abound. A number of experts have assertively claimed the superiority of their method.
Multiple theories on patient engagement is not necessarily bad. The problem comes when this chaos leads to spurious ideas. So, instead of focusing on one solution, here is what your patient care software should not do:
Focus on only patients with chronic diseases: It is true those patients with chronic diseases are the ones most likely to seek out patient care. They are also more self-involved in their healthcare, increasing the rate of success of patient care software.
But this approach ignores low-risk patients who will also benefit enormously from this service. Information on disease prevention and better healthcare on a patient portal can significantly improve basic health of regular patients. As an industry patient care must focus on creating better health instead of just managing disease.
Fortunately, increasing healthcare awareness is also increasing the demand for such information. So, such information will naturally drive greater traffic towards a patient portal.
Ignore non-compliant patients: Patient Portal Software is an impersonal space, often meant to just record facts. But, as we move towards a more inclusive patient engagement, we must also accommodate for personal and subjective circumstances. A good patient portal does not just provide better healthcare experience; it is also handy in keeping track of people who may fall through the system.
Here, it can have an edge over in-person assistance. Healthcare professionals often ignore non-compliant patients, seeing them as lazy or people who are simply beyond their help. However, personal situations may vary. There could be other reasons behind a patient’s tardiness. When we find records that show unusual behavior in patients like a sudden slackness in keeping appointments, we may find other reasons for such as financial difficulty or absence of caregivers. When detected in time, a suitable alternative can be found.
Presume that only the younger demographic is tech savvy: While it is true that older patients are less likely to be tech savvy when compared to the younger population, this should not be reason enough to ignore them as a valid demographic.
This demographic is simply to important to be ignored. Most patients in any care giving facility fall into the elderly age bracket, whether as patients with chronic diseases or for preventive care.
Actually, even when it comes to tech usage, this assumption may prove completely wrong.
If one studies the 60s population today, one finds that many of them have been using gadgets like smartphones for almost a decade now. Moreover, simple patient portal software or a basic tutorial is usually enough for competent patient engagement.
So, ideal patient portal software should be less discriminatory and easy to use. It should also be designed to track regular patients.