Published in the January/February 2012 issue, Gena provides an overview of how patient portals will play a central role in solving the Meaningful Use objectives of providing patient centered care.

Click here to read Gena’s article and learn how patient portals are already supporting Meaningful Use, increasing efficiency, and improving patient satisfaction. Two case studies describe patient portal implementation and use in the oncology practice setting.

Related links

• What is a patient portal?
• 8 Steps to Get Ready for Meaningful Use Attestation
• Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal

ACCC Oncology Issues Guest Article is a post from: Navigating Cancer

What is Patient Engagement?

Since the early days of the Internet we have witnessed a rise in patient engagement as patients have gone online to self diagnose symptoms, learn about their condition and treatment options once they receive a diagnosis, and connect with communities of like patients to learn from their experiences.

According to a 2010 PEW Research Center study, 83% of Internet users have used the Internet to search for health information, making this activity the third most popular for all online adults. To date this has happened outside of the patient/provider relationship, and can sometimes lead to misinformation and false hopes about unproven treatments. It can also lead to patients finding out about treatment options that have saved their lives, which they otherwise may have not known about.

Why is Patient Engagement Important?

Studies have shown that patients who are engaged in their care report a better quality of life and are more involved in treatment decisions with their health care team. A study by the advocacy group Kidney Cancer Canada found that patients who were engaged in their care rated their health higher, were more proactive in researching their health concerns, and acted more quickly to receive second and third line treatments when first line treatments failed.

Using Health IT to Power Patient Engagement

With the adoption of new technologies such as electronic health records (EHR’s) and patient portals, and new care models such as the Oncology Medical Home, patient engagement can become part of an oncology practice’s care model. Patients want to receive information from their doctor and healthcare team, and are going to the web when their questions and concerns aren’t being addressed. In a 2010 NCI Survey published in the journal Oncology, people’s trust in information from healthcare professionals had increased while their trust in health information from the Internet had waned between 2002 and 2008.

Using new patient portal technology, doctors can automatically provide patients with electronic copies of diagnosis specific patient education materials, and care management tools to track and report their treatment side effects, all under the clinic brand, which patients know and trust.

Patient Engagement from the Patient Perspective

Studies confirm patient engagement is beneficial, federal programs and advocacy organizations are encouraging practices to adopt technology and programs that will help engage patients, but what do cancer patients want? We surveyed our members to find out and will release the results in the coming weeks. Preliminary data confirms that a wide majority of cancer patients are interested in using online tools and resources to help manage their care and recovery, and are especially interested in reading cancer education materials from expert sources.

Engaging patients in their care is becoming an important part of the evolving patient/provider relationship, and as new standards of care and technology are implemented best practices will evolve for achieving positive outcomes. We’re excited to have a leading role in engaging patients in their care through health IT by providing the patient portal technology that will enable all stakeholders to realize the benefits of patient engagement.

Past, Present and Future of Patient Engagement is a post from: Navigating Cancer

HITECH Incentives for the Meaningful Use Objectives Peak in 2012

Probably the biggest issue that everyone is focused on is achieving the Meaningful Use objectives this year. Most of the practices we have spoken with were focused on the eRx Incentive Program in 2011 and are now turning their attention to the HITECH incentives for 2012. We haven’t yet spoken with a practice that isn’t planning to attest for HITECH this year. The big issue I see is how quickly practices can prepare to be able to attest. Most practices were upgraded to the HITECH certified versions of the EHR late last year, and now practices are starting to think through their patient portal strategy and implementation.  From there, they can start the work of ensuring that they are actually using the systems in a way to achieve the objectives.

As more and more patient portals are implemented, patients will start to receive electronic access to parts of their health record through the CCD (Continuity of Care Document) standards. This will be a good first step in implementing patient centered care. Some portals go further than just solving the basic health IT regulatory requirements, such as Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal, which has been shown to increase patient satisfaction and save practices time and money. At the end of the day, that’s what all Health IT vendors should be focused on— creating a useful service for both providers and patients, not just creating features to meet requirements.

Don’t delay!  These incentives peak in 2012, and the last date to start the 90-day attestation period is October 1. Working back from this date, practices should be evaluating and selecting their certified EHR and Patient Portal vendors now to leave enough time to implement, adopt and reach the baseline measures before starting the attestation process.

Practices who don’t meet this deadline will miss out on $18,000 per provider in 2012. Don’t leave money on the table!

More info:

• Click here to download a copy of the Meaningful Use objectives
• Eight steps to get ready for Meaningful Use attestation
• Oncology patient portal case study: learn how one practice is saving $100 per doctor, per month

Medical Home & Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Models

There is a lot of talk about Medical Home and ACO models throughout healthcare.  For oncology clinics, it’s less clear how ACO models will be implemented. There is much more talk about defining a Medical Home in oncology and creating the right measurement and reporting tools to support this initiative. Payers are starting to look for opportunities to pilot these models and to take baby steps in supporting initiatives that help practices create an oncology Medical Home. We’re seeing a variety of different pilots with payers including shared savings models, alternative payment models, and the mandated use of technology to deliver the most cost effective, quality care.

Health IT definitely has a role in these new models. Simple features, implemented correctly, could have a massive impact in managing costs and providing better care. For example, one feature of our Patient Engagement Portal is a Daily Health Journal, which includes a side effect tracking tool that can be used to help alert providers when interventions may be necessary to help patients manage the side effects of treatment. Providing their care team with the right information at the right time could prevent patients from having to visit the emergency room, an important cost driver to be avoided if possible.

Another example is the use of technology to better manage the advanced directives process in oncology, which is a key driver of managing costs and ensuring that patient’s wishes are taken into consideration at the end of life. Using technology to simply ask patients their wishes and then sending them information about the process could go a long way in educating patients on the importance of planning.  Easy to use reporting tools could also help healthcare providers manage the process and assist them in communicating more effectively on this very important, but also delicate topic.

More info:

• Risks and benefits of ACO and Medical Home care models
• Example of an oncology medical home

Commission on Cancer Guidelines

As part of the new Amercian College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) guidelines, cancer programs that seek CoC accreditation must implement continuum of care programs by 2015 including a survivorship care plan (with a treatment record summary of care), psychosocial distress screening, and a patient navigation process.

In recognition of the importance of survivorship, this month the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established two new reimbursement codes for cancer treatment planning and care coordination. The codes will go into effect April 1, 2012 and will allow providers to be reimbursed for the time and expertise they dedicate to cancer treatment planning.

For each program Health IT can be used to plan, track and communicate with patients, making it easier for providers to be reimbursed for their time and to aide in the communication process. Clinics using our Patient Engagement Portal can easily provide patients with a treatment record summary as part of their transition to survivorship care. In the coming years, we’ll likely see more and more providers  communicating with patients via secure email messages, especially with Stage 2 Meaningful Use, which will provide them with incentives to use a simple mechanism that is already part of our daily lives to improve communication with their patients and improve efficiency.

This communication will be very important to effectively support navigation and survivorship programs in the coming years and to track and manage patients in the most effective and cost efficient way.

More info:

• American College of Surgeons 2012 Commission on Cancer guidelines
• CMS establishes cancer treatment planning and care coordination reimbursement codes

Patient Centered Care from the Patient Perspective

Patient Centered Care is now on the national healthcare agenda and as a result is an opportunity for healthcare professionals to receive incentives for adopting new technology and for payer pilots to try new approaches. At the same time, new accreditation standards are pushing providers and payers in the same direction. What do patients think about this transformation?

We surveyed 250 patients from clinics who are using the Navigating Cancer Patient Engagement Platform and an overwhelming 74% responded that they were interested in using online tools and resources to help manage their care and recovery. Seventy five percent are specifically interested in learning about their condition, treatment options, and how to manage side effects.

When provided with a list of online tools and resources, patients were most interested in having secure access to their medical records.We will publish the full survey results soon, but initial responses show that patients want to be more active in their care, and are very interested in using technology to help them manage their condition.

Transforming Health Care Through Patient Centered Care

All in all, the future looks bright for healthcare consumers. Patients will start receiving electronic access to parts of their healthcare record as well as tools and information to be an active participant in their care and an important member of the healthcare team. The use of technology will facilitate this process and we’re working really hard to be a part of the transformation by providing easy to use, low cost tools to enable the best healthcare provider and patient relationship imaginable.

Using Health IT to Achieve Patient Centered Care is a post from: Navigating Cancer

Rose provides some history and focus of COA’s Patient Advocacy Network (CPAN) as well as agenda and registration information for this year’s event. We’re excited to be participating and hope you can join us.

COA Patient Advocacy Network and Program
by Rose Gerber, Director of Patient Advocacy/Breast Cancer Survivor, Community Oncology Alliance

I am pleased to share the news that Greg Maxfield, VP of Business Development at Navigating Cancer, will be one of our speakers during our patient advocacy program at our upcoming conference. Also speaking is distinguished guest, Utah Attorney General and colon cancer survivor, Mark Shurtleff.  I am inviting each of you to attend and/or help us identify cancer survivors/advocates that would be interested in attending our conference to learn more about becoming a cancer care advocate.

Since 2003, COA, a non-profit organization has been advocating for cancer patients and their oncologists. COA’s primary objective is to protect and foster the community oncology delivery system, thus ensuring that cancer patients have access to high quality care in their communities. Each year COA’s annual national conference attracts oncologists, practice administrators, nurses and various health care professionals from across the U.S.

The Community Oncology Alliance Patient Advocacy Network (CPAN) was created to provide a forum for patients, caregivers, survivors and all interested members of the cancer community to become more active participants in advocating for cancer care. Our patient advocacy program has a very unique leadership team.  In addition to my extensive advocacy experience, I am also a breast cancer survivor.  Our program is enhanced by Rick Frame, MD, a practicing medical oncologist at Utah Cancer Specialists in Salt Lake City. Dr. Frame serves as the Medical Chairman for CPAN.

In February 2011, during COA’s 6^th annual conference, we launched our inaugural patient advocacy conference program. The patient advocacy program ran parallel to COA’s general conference track and was designed to educate and empower cancer patients and survivors in understanding how national policy issues ultimately impact local cancer care.  Some of the issues that our attendees learned about included understanding the various types of cancer advocacy, how to lobby congress and how to use traditional and social media in reaching advocacy goals. The program was a success. Over 40 cancer survivors/advocates representing multiple cancer types and 14 states were in attendance.  A very notable and memorable guest was Utah Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff. Mr. Shurtleff is a colon cancer survivor and a patient of Rick Frame, MD. I am pleased to share that Mr. Shurtleff will be returning to our conference, once again inspiring his fellow cancer survivors.

Sample Agenda

Our March 2012 conference will provide cancer survivors/advocates with valuable information.  A sampling of educational sessions include Patients Access to Quality Care, An Introduction to COA’s and COA’s Key legislative Issues, How Patients and Nurses Can Collaborate in Advocating for Cancer Care, Understanding How Insurance Policies Impact Cancer Patient Care, The Business Side of Patient Care, Accountable Care Organizations and Medial Homes & Accountable Care Organizations – What Are They and Why Should Patients Care?

In addition to networking with peers from across the U.S., advocate attendees will also have the opportunity to interact with physicians, nurses, administrators and various health care and industry professionals by joining the main conference luncheon educational sessions, and during exhibit hall visitation.

We are actively seeking conference attendees. The registration process is simple and the patient advocacy program costs are very affordable. COA has secured very affordable hotel rates at Caesars Palace and advocate attendees pay a registration fee of only $75.  Click here for more information on registration fees and COA’s main conference track.

I hope to see you in Las Vegas!

Rose Gerber
Director of Patient Advocacy
www.coaAdvocacy.org
860-287-1586
roseg@coacancer.org

Navigating Cancer to speak at annual COA Conference is a post from: Navigating Cancer

Medical Home Ingredients – All Good Things

Image source: ACO Summit www.acosummit.com

This past year seems to have included every letter of the alphabet soup of changes and challenges, from ACO, ASP, CMS, FDA, GPCI, NCCN, PCMH, SGR and all of the other acronyms in between.  It seems like we can’t get through even a few sentences before spewing out one of the alphabetized words. And yet, two of these concepts seem to have withstood the test of time – ACOs and PCMH.  Does this mean that they both have staying power?  Let’s explore………………

ACO’s are Accountable Care Organizations.  When the final rule of this HHS (ooops – we forgot one – Health & Human Services) concept came out in May 2011, there was a mad dash to see if cancer “care” was incorporated into this final version, since it was not addressed in the proposed rule.  The cancer community apparently noticed the glaring omission and shared the following commentary.

*The word “cancer” was mentioned in the proposed rule even more frequently than it was in the final rule.  Most of the mentions in the final rule were in reference to the comments stemming from the proposed version, and the majority of those were in the context of screenings.  There was not a single quality measure for cancer care in the preliminary or final ACO rules.  This seems to indicate that cancer care, in general, is not readily understood by policy makers; for if this concept had been truly grasped, the criteria with which to measure the efficient and high quality delivery of such care would have likewise been addressed. In that the treatment of cancer is, in fact, one of the top five most expensive health care conditions, this void or omission speaks to the lack of understanding.

* Bigger is not necessarily Better – One would think that if a larger, more consolidated regional healthcare delivery system were able to deliver a higher quality, more efficient model of cancer care, they would have done so.  Several recent studies have indicated that private, more community oriented, cancer care is less expensive to both payers and patients.  Some would argue the point that patient and family satisfaction is also higher in the community setting.

* Risk versus Benefit – The whole concept behind an ACO model is participant sharing of the collective (supposed) savings that would be realized after years 1, 2 or 3 of participation. However, in order to participate in this potential profit, a provider may be asked to forfeit their culture and identity and become part of a larger organization that could possibly move at the pace of country molasses on a cold winter day.  Many providers do not view this potential benefit worthy of the risk and autonomy they may lose – particularly as it relates to cancer care.

* Us versus Us – Probably the largest drawback to an ACO model is the fact that it pits this integrated delivery system against itself with regard to savings.  So then, this model actually morphs a care organization into a new payment model that has the potential to actually minimize capital investments into the delivery model.  After all, capital investments could translate into lost savings, particularly when the return on investment extends to any multiplier of 3 years.

The alternative to the ACO is the Medical Home.  This model has built in incentives that create value for all stakeholders in real time.  A brief description follows:

* All good things – The oncology medical home is the home for all good things, whether it be unique and different payment models that recognize or reward quality, value, and efficiency, or simply tools and technologies that enhance the patient and family experience.  If it is good and helps promote quality, value or efficiency – it belongs under the umbrella of a medical home.

* Led by Stakeholders – The Oncology Medical Home model is steered by representative stakeholders for the mutual benefit of all cancer care stakeholders.  These stakeholders include: patients, providers, payers, communities, employers and patient advocacy organizations.  One of the core beliefs of the oncology medical home is that all will benefit if the components of quality, value and efficiency are emphasized, promoted and recognized.

* Support Network – Stakeholders drive the decision-making process of standardizing measures and recognition.  However, a talented peer group within the cancer care community will help to identify, endorse and implement the tools, templates and technologies that will assist teams in achieving their maximum quality, value, efficiency, and ultimately reward, with minimal financial or administrative burden.

* Us versus Them – In order to demonstrate quality, value or efficiency within this model there must be:

a) A standard set of measures

b) Automation to produce these measures without administrative burden

c) A repository to compare yourself against the peers not only in your specialty but other specialties.

This ongoing competition to continually improve while being rewarded for achieving improvements gives this model staying power, while at the same time, driving down costs and eliminating inefficiencies.

The Medical Home Model is a process that invites and encourages innovation in all things; patient-oriented workflows, integrated and coordinated care, a variety of reimbursement models, and an enhanced identity by the provider team.  This innovation, with an emphasis on demonstrated achievement, creates a place of comfort and care; a place that any cancer patient would want to call home – a place for all good things.

Bo Gamble has been involved in healthcare for over 30 years, and the last 13 years in cancer care. He has a passion for all good things in cancer care.

Related Links

• Example of a Patient Centered Oncology Medical Home
• Patient Portals: the Gateway to Patient Centered Care and Meaningful Use
• Community Oncology Alliance (COA)

Medical Home vs. Accountable Care Organization is a post from: Navigating Cancer

Most of the oncology practice administrators we speak with are planning to attest for the Meaningful Use incentives in 2012. While it may seem like there’s plenty of time between now and then, there are specific steps that will impact how soon you should get started on implementing and adopting your solution. Below are the 8 steps in the Meaningful Use attestation process, and a timeframe for how long each step could take.

1. Evaluate and select a certified EHR and patient portal. (1-2 months)
2. Implement a certified EHR or upgrade your current EHR to the certified version. (1-2 months)
3. Implement a certified patient portal. (1 month, can be done simultaneously with EHR implementation)
4. Integrate your certified EHR and patient portal with your practice management and lab systems. (1-2 months)
5. Begin using the new system, run weekly reports to achieve baseline for the 20 Meaningful Use measures. (1-3 months)
6. Once you reach baseline, you can start the attestation process, which takes 90 consecutive days. (3 months)
7. Answer attestation questions on CMS website.
8. Receive your federal incentive check.

To qualify for the 2012 incentives, you must begin the attestation period no later than October 1, 2012. Working backwards from that date, if you haven’t yet selected a certified EHR or patient portal you should start the evaluation process in January/February. If you already have an EHR, you should upgrade to the certified version in March to have enough time to integrate with internal systems, reach baseline, and start the attestation period. However, the sooner you begin the process the more cushion you’ll give yourself to absorb any unforeseen issues that may arise during the process.

If you haven’t yet selected a certified EHR or patient portal, you should start the evaluation process in January/February 2012, and start implementation by March 2012.

Meaningful Use Attestation Process

Below are the steps in the Meaningful Use attestation process. Step 1 you can do now, the others won’t begin until you’ve integrated and have started using your certified EHR and patient portal.

1. Register on CMS website. You can do this now before you have a certified EHR and patient portal if your state has launched their incentive program. Check your state’s status here.
2. Decide which of the menu set measures you will attest for. There are 15 core set measures, and 10 menu set measures. You must attest for all 15 in the core set, and select 5 of the 10 from the menu set. Here’s a list of all 25 Meaningful Use objectives and the specific measures you must meet for Stage 1.
3. Once you have all your technology systems in place, run reports from your systems to show how you are doing for each of the Meaningful Use measures.
4. Once you reach baseline for each Meaningful Use measure, start attesting. Track results over a 90-day consecutive period.
5. Run a report from your technology showing that you passed all the Meaningful Use measures over the 90-day period. You do not need to submit this report, but need it in case you are audited.
6. Enter the results for 20 Meaningful Use measures on the CMS website. Here are some screenshots with examples of questions.
7. Celebrate your accomplishment!

HITECH incentives peak in 2012, and the sooner you select and start to implement your Meaningful Use technology solutions the more likely you’ll meet the October 1 attestation deadline.

Have you gone through the attestation process? We’d love to hear about your experience. Please leave a note in comments below.
How long was your process from when you started evaluating technology solutions to when you finished the 90-day attestation period?
How long did it take for your practice to reach baseline once you began using the technology and before you began the 90-day attestation period?

Related Links

• Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal
• Free download of Stage 1 Meaningful Use Objectives and Measures
• Why patient portals are necessary to qualify for HITECH incentives

How to Attest for the Meaningful Use Incentives is a post from: Navigating Cancer

Rather than keep his finding a secret, he published a paper and released the chemical identity of the compound to the medical research community and encouraged others to experiment and test it, which over 70 labs are now doing. As a result of this open source approach, labs are having success in experiments that are preventing the growth of leukemia and multiple myeloma cells. Click below to watch the video.

Related Links

• Explore cancer treatment options by cancer type
• List of cancer chemotherapy drugs
• List of cancer chemotherapy treatments

Open source cancer research video is a post from: Navigating Cancer

Today we announced an exciting partnership with Unlimited Systems, the leading national provider of systems integration to over 1,300 cancer care providers. We’ve embedded Unlimited Systems’ Interlink gateway integration engine into our Patient Engagement Portal, which makes it possible to easily integrate with any of the practice management, lab and electronic health record (EHR) systems used in oncology practices across the country. As a result, this will enable cancer clinics that adopt our certified Patient Engagement Portal and a certified EHR to integrate the two and qualify for the HITECH Act Meaningful Use incentives.

Streamlines Clinic Workflow, Gives Patients Complete View

With integration across multiple clinic systems included in the Navigating Cancer Patient Engagement Portal license, we’ll be able to create the interoperability needed that will allow practices to save time and money by reducing duplicate data entry, streamlining patient registration, and expediting insurance verification for faster claims payment and reduced denials.

Although integration is vital to make a practice as streamlined as possible, creating a really robust Personal Health Record for oncology patients will be transformative and help healthcare professionals and patients collaborate in ways that weren’t possible before.  Patients will have complete access to their health records including medical history, lab results, and appointments, which they can view online and on demand through their clinic’s website and under their clinic’s brand.

We feel strongly that this partnership is a significant value-add for clinics and patients.  We’re excited because we’re one step closer to delivering on our mission to connect every cancer patient to their healthcare team, their own health records and the right information at the right time.

The following are just a few of the reasons why our Patient Engagement Portal is the market leading patient portal solution for oncology clinics.

• Certified for more Meaningful Use objectives than any other independent patient portal solution. This makes it easier for clinics to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives.
• The only certified, oncology specific patient portal that can integrate with any certified EHR system. This offers clinics more choices in crafting a custom solution that best fits the unique needs of their practice.
• Innovative and unmatched features such as cancer specific care management tools and automated delivery of patient education materials.
• The simplest and most intuitive design makes it easy for patients and staff to use.

We would welcome the opportunity to be your partner in delivering patient centered care. Click the links below to learn more, or click here to request a demo or additional info.

Related Links

• What is a patient portal?
• Oncology patient portal case study
• Why patient portals are necessary to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives
• Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal features and benefits

Patient Portal Integration with Unlimited Systems is a post from: Navigating Cancer

What’s the difference between a patient portal, personal health record (PHR) and electronic health record (EHR)?

The lines between the three are blurring, as patient portals are becoming more integrated into other systems, and are expanding the services they provide.

A personal health record (PHR) can be a paper, electronic or web based record of an individual’s health data that is compiled and maintained by the individual. The paper-based format is typically a file folder or binder with copies of printed lab reports, tests and personal health history forms. An electronic version contains the same information but is hosted on a personal computer that can be printed and backed up. Web based versions include Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault where the same information is hosted on a third party web server (a.k.a. cloud computing) and can be accessed and shared from any computer over the internet.

In all cases, it’s up to the individual to get copies of all their labs, test results and treatment history and enter this information into their PHR. This has proven to be too much work for most people, and in June Google announced it was shuttering Google Health due to low adoption.

An electronic health record (EHR), also called an electronic medical record (EMR), is a record of an individual’s health data that is entered and maintained by a health care provider such as hospitals and clinics. While the data is about the patient, it was not easy for patients to get access to this data.

A patient portal is an online gateway to provide patients with access to their medical information that is captured in an EHR/EMR. If a PHR integrates with an EHR/EMR, it can act as patient portal as well.

As a health care provider, why do I need a patient portal?

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included incentives for providers to adopt electronic health record (EHR) systems. To qualify for these incentives, providers must show that they are using EHR’s in a “meaningful way” by passing a certification test consisting of 25 specific Meaningful Use rules. This includes a number of patient engagement objectives to provide patients with electronic access to their medical records in a timely manner, as well as patient specific education materials.

EHR’s are not designed to communicate with patients or provide them with access to their information. A web based patient portal that is integrated with an EHR is the most efficient way to bridge this gap so providers can meet the patient engagement objectives, and thus qualify for the incentives.

Learn more about the specific Meaningful Use objectives patient portals solve.

How does a patient portal work?

Each patient portal has different features for patients and providers. Some portals provide patients with read-only access to their information, while others allow patients to edit and update their personal information such as contact info and insurance.

Some patient portals are tethered to specific EHR systems, while others are more flexible and can be integrated with multiple internal clinic systems including practice management, EHR and labs.

What are the benefits and features of patient portals?

For oncologists, a patient portal can be customized to provide oncology specific tools and resources for your staff and patients. Below are some of the features and benefits patient portals can provide when integrated with internal clinic systems.

• Online new patient registration reduces printing and mailing paper forms
• Oncology specific care management tools improves patient side effect tracking
• Automated delivery of diagnosis specific patient education materials results in better informed patients
• Secure messaging with patients for e-visits and appointment reminders reduces missed calls and visits
• Communication tools for patients helps them organize support from friends and family
• Social network for patients connects them with other cancer survivors for additional support
• Services such as online bill pay, prescription refill requests and appointment scheduling results in more efficient use of staff time
• Patient access to health information including lab results, tests and medical history reduces staff time spent copying and mailing patient records
• Spanish language version of new patient registration expands potential patient base

To learn more about the specific features and benefits of Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal, please visit our patient portal page, check out the related links below, or request a demo.

Related links

• Oncology patient portal case study
• Why patient portals are necessary to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives
• Meaningful Use Rules: the basics

What is a patient portal? is a post from: Navigating Cancer

With certification, our Patient Engagement Portal becomes the only oncology specific patient portal solution that can integrate with any certified EHR system. This offers oncology clinics more choices to customize a solution that best fits their needs, and provides their patients with the best user experience.

In addition, our Patient Engagement Portal has been certified for more meaningful use objectives than any other modular patient portal solution, which makes it easier for clinics to qualify for the incentives.

Why Patient Portals Are Necessary to Meet Meaningful Use

EHR’s are not designed to solve the patient engagement objectives of the meaningful use rules in an efficient manner, if at all, so they need a patient portal. Specifically, they need a patient portal to provide patients with:

1. timely electronic access to their health information within 4 days of being updated in the EHR
2. patient specific education resources
3. clinical summaries of each office visit
4. an electronic copy of their health information within 3 business days of request

To qualify for the four meaningful use objectives above using only an EHR, clinics would have to incur the expense of copying health information, patient educational materials, and clinical visit summaries onto CD’s or USB thumb drives and then mailing them all within 3 or 4 days of each patients visit. With a patient portal, this can be done online by providing on demand access via a patient user interface.  Ideally, a patient portal should help meet these objectives with a seamless experience and very little work from clinic staff.

If you already have an EHR solution, you don’t have to use the patient portal option your EHR vendor has selected. You have the option to work with any certified, modular patient portal that can integrate with your EHR. Your patient portal is the user interface for your patients, and thus an extension of your clinic brand, so you’ll want to make sure it’s well designed, simple and easy to use.

Patient Portals: An Opportunity to Engage Patients in their Care

All patient portals should provide access to electronic health records, but not all engage patients in their care. More than just a log in page with read only health information, a patient portal can be used as

1. an online registration system to save money printing and mailing paper forms
2. a care management platform with tools to improve patient side effect tracking and email reminders to stay compliant with their treatment plan
3. an automated delivery system for patient education materials based on diagnosis
4. a communication platform for patients to organize support from friends and family
5. a way for patients to connect with other cancer survivors via an active social network

When evaluating certified EHR and patient portal solutions, keep in mind the big picture.  Ultimately, you want your technology solution to improve care while making your practice more efficient, not just solve a regulatory requirement.

Related Links

• Navigating Cancer’s Patient Engagement Portal solution
• Patient Portals: the gateway to patient centered care and meaningful use
• Press release about Patient Engagement Portal certification
• Meaningful Use rules: the basics

Navigating Cancer Patient Engagement Portal Receives Certification is a post from: Navigating Cancer