The word his its root in the Middle Ages. Merriam Webster defines a portal as a “door
or entrance: especially a grand or imposing one.” Originally, it denoted the gateway to a city,
church or castle.
When creating your physician portal—the digital doorway to your medical practice, so
to speak—make sure that it conveys your commitment to quality patient care and
to robust, efficient referrer services that set you apart from the
competition. Savvy medical marketers use
their portal to add value to their relationships with referrers through premium
services and streamlined workflow—in short they offer up the keys to a very comfortable
kingdom designed with customer needs in mind.
It’s a fact. Today, much
of your cross-practice communication takes place digitally and can be centralized and automated within the portal’s digital doorway as an
alternative to email, phone and faxing. Busy
referrers will appreciate knowing that you are overseeing the entire exam
process—from order to follow up--and are delivering the white-glove service
that streamlines their workflow.
So when it comes to a successful portal, make sure you
create a welcoming, personalized look and feel—no robo atmosphere here. Also remember that offering robust
functionality is actually an economy of sorts because once your portal is
operational, you can offer extra services that take virtually no additional
staff time. It also goes without saying
that ease of use is crucial or your referrers may simply choose not to engage
with your technology.
When implementing a premium portal, incorporate it heavily
in your marketing plans and encourage staff to showcase it in front of prospective
referrers. Give them a look inside the
gate as it were so that they understand in
advance how committed you are to meeting their needs and delivering a high
level of service. Remember, your portal can be a very powerful calling card for
new prospects. Employ technology that serves dual functions
of streamlining operations and inspiring collaboration for tighter referring
physician relationships and stronger patient loyalty.
Following are tips from our experts on how to make your portal
stand out from the competition as a highly effective sales tool:
Look for a robust and flexible technology that will support
your referrer’s workflow and automate as many aspects of it as possible. This includes patient registration,
results-delivery and follow up. All data
should be available in real time.
For registration, make it easy for physicians to request an
appointment with your practice online, manage insurance eligibility processes
and provide downloadable copies of all forms for both patients and physicians. Bar-coded forms boost efficiency. Adding
patient educational materials also is a good idea.
For results-communications, supply not only online copies of
current reports and images but also historical reports.
Follow up material should include historical data, patient
satisfaction surveys and a robust patient portal.
In particular, most referrers will appreciate a thorough eligibility
manager to ensure patients receive care in a timely fashion. Look for one that provides detailed information
about covered services, deductibles, co-insurance and more. It should display
where patients are in the verification process and process batch claims. Also make available a history of prior exams
enterprise wide and beyond if possible to ensure ordered exams have not been
completed elsewhere and may not be covered.
As patients move through the exam process, make sure
referrers can see at a glance exactly where they are—did they come in or were
they a no show? Did they successfully
complete the exam process? Are further tests needed? Did they leave satisfied? How is the exam interpretation process
proceeding?
Build in patient engagement by linking your patient portal
to your referrer’s digital work area so that
they can encourage sign up and add extra materials as needed.
Throughout the portal adopt best practices while catering to
your referring physicians. Brand
your portal to create a strong
impression. Make sure it is intuitive
and easy to use.
