Just look around the hospitals you visit to consult and then think about how they were when you were young!
You would observe that the roca healthcare industry has evolved rapidly with digitization. And it is paving the roadmap for the future. Starting from basic things like recording patient health, the change has been seen even in the delivery of care.
Take patient records, for example; earlier, you would have had to quiet carry a file containing your entire medical history. Now, all you need is a login and password, just like your social media account.
However, some critics have doubted the absence of a human touch in care delivery. But what isn’t possible when you have technology.
In this blog, we are going to discuss exactly that! How patient engagement features in the EHR/EMR system have been the stimulant in improving patient healthcare outcomes.
Key Patient Engagement Features in EHR/EMR Systems
Patient engagement can be explained as the active participation of patients in their care delivery. But how can that be achieved digitally, as there is near to no physical interaction?
So here are the key features included in patient engagement software development that helps in improving patient outcome:
Patient Portal
An EHR system is used not only by providers but also by patients. In simple terms, a patient portal is the point of contact for patients to access their health records virtually. This portal is directly linked to the patient’s electronic health records, so the patient can access their important health records like test results, SOAP notes, lab readings, prescriptions, etc. In modern healthcare, patient portals are used as tools to empower patient engagement.
Health Information Exchange (HIE)
Every healthcare practice requires the sharing of patient health information. EMR software development has integrated that into the patient portal itself. Patients can securely and easily exchange important health information to enhance better coordination and communication between patients and healthcare providers.
Telehealth Integration
In digital healthcare services, patients need to have a platform where they can seamlessly connect and receive care from providers. By integrating telehealth platforms in the EMR systems, providers can easily enhance patient engagement, where patients can not only be guided through every process of care but also be educated and informed about the treatment and diagnosis plans.
- Personalized Recommendations
Patient portals, telehealth platforms, and secure messaging are some of the tools that empower patient engagement. This helps healthcare professionals to focus on one patient at a time. This enables providers to have a holistic approach to care delivery that makes personalized recommendations in the care and treatment plans. One of the crucial aspects of this is that it enables doctors to take patient’s preferences into consideration, just like it happens in traditional healthcare practices.
- Mobile Health (mHealth) Applications
Mobile has literally brought the entire world to your fingertips. By giving direct access to healthcare services via mobile applications, patients can constantly be engaged with healthcare providers and actively participate in their healthcare services.
Benefits of Healthcare Engagement Features
Patient engagement features directly involve everyone and keep everyone focused on one particular goal to improve patient outcomes. Being such an important aspect of healthcare delivery, here are some of the distinct benefits of healthcare engagement features.
Improved Patient Outcomes
When patients are actively involved in their healthcare services, the psychological effects it has on patient outcomes are immense. By educating patients and keeping them updated with their care processes, both patients and providers can manage diseases and treatment plans better safe. This directly improves care delivery and, ultimately, patient outcomes.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
While every other feature in the EHR software development process helps ease the care delivery process for healthcare providers, patient engagement with effective communication and collaboration works on the patient side to keep them satisfied. Furthermore, patient engagement features enable a holistic approach to care, and the convenience it provides in receiving care directly adds up to increasing patient satisfaction levels. Studies also suggest that patients who have received virtual care are likely to come back again and prefer using those services unless physical interaction is not necessary.
Enhanced Communication Between Patients and Providers
Secure messaging, telehealth platform integration, and enabling health records are some of the essential features of EHR/EMR systems that facilitate clear communication between patients and providers. This enables patients to actively participate in their care services. Also, keeping patients and providers just a message away in case of any doubts or complications enables timely intervention and prevention of any major mishaps. This further adds to the advantage of quick and efficient care delivery to improve patient outcomes.
Streamlined and Coordinated Care
EHR/EMR systems have given the control of manual tasks directly into the hands of patients. This solves and streamlines the first step of care delivery, making it easy for providers to curate a diagnosis and treatment plan in real-time. The inclusion of secure messaging between patients and all the members of the care team enhances coordinated care, making the entire process patient-centric with a focus on improving patient health.
Future Trends
As technology advances at an unprecedented speed, the evolution of the healthcare industry is going to be more digital, easy, and patient-centric. The introduction of innovative lorex technology with AI and machine learning is already paving the roadmap for the future of modern-day healthcare practices.
AI-powered chatbots are already helping patients by educating and providing them with basic healthcare practices. This helps the EHR/EMR systems keep the patient engaged in their care process. Furthermore, the inclusion of itouch wearables technology further enhances patient engagement by facilitating care coordination.
Conclusion
Patient engagement features in EHR/EMR systems are the connecting link for patients to seamlessly connect with providers. These features actively involve patients in their care plan and give them more control of their health. By imbibing the human touch in virtual healthcare practices and leveraging technology, providers have effectively solved the problem of patient engagement and made the entire healthcare process more personalized and patient-centric
