The efficiency and effectiveness of patient portal software have made patient portals a must-have for any respectable clinic or health facility. It is a multipurpose tool that is able to ease the administration of health services to patients. Not only can it handle administrative functions, but it can also serve as an educational tool and engage your patients more.
All these benefits of patient portal software should be reaped. It has the right features and components. In this article, we seek to unpack the features that such software must have before you purchase or have one made for you. If you need a consultation from a lawyer about physician contract negotiations, you can visit Contract Diagnostics website
Registration feature
Every portal software should have a feature that allows your recurrent patients to save their personal information on your server. This reduces the amount of time for the administration of health services per patient. Before the data is saved onto your system, it is advisable to have the patient data reviewed. You could have protocols in place that limit the number of mistakes a patient can make.
Messaging feature
If you were not aware, most of the population prefers texting over other forms of communication. Software with a messaging feature will also reduce the amount of time taken by your front desk to reply, make appointments and make reminders.
A patient portal can also allow for the patient and the doctor to communicate effectively if the patient is unable to make it to the office. The information, later on, can be moved to the patient’s file and permanently stored.
Making appointments
This is one feature that has revolutionized the hospital industry. No longer do patients have to call the front desk to book an appointment. All they need is a smart device and a working internet connection.
For this feature to be effective, the feature must mimic the schedules and timings of the different professionals/doctors in the facility. You wouldn’t want a patient to book an appointment only for the doctor to be away.
The appointment scheduling software will also make your hospital or clinic stand out from the competition. You will look more sophisticated and professional.
An educational tool
Patients will always be calling up the doctors to ask them about the prescription and dosage for a particular drug. What if that information was easily available on the platform? Diagnosis and treatment plans can be uploaded on the portal to make this easy for the doctor as well as the patient.
As a medical clinic, you can also choose to partner with one of the local universities to have them incorporate educational material into your portal software. This can be a good partnership that is beneficial to both you and the university.
Feedback
It is always important to request your patients for feedback on your services. But some are not too willing on a face-to-face basis. However, when they are behind a computer, they will be more than willing.
The feedback you receive should guide you on how to improve your services in the future.