Patients want online connection to you

If your patient population is similar to the pool of those responding to a recent survey, you’ll want to consider adding a secure online communication tool to your practice to allow patients to obtain lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with your offices-if you haven’t done so already.

Seventy-three percent of those participating in software company Intuit Health’s Health Care Check-Up Survey said they would use such a tool for such purposes, and almost half of respondents said they would consider changing doctors to go to a practice that offered the ability to communicate and complete healthcare tasks online.

“Patients…want some measure of control, convenience and better communication with their doctor[s],” says Steve Malik, president and general manager of Intuit Health. “Doctors who offer secure online solutions can meet this patient demand while increasing office efficiency and enhancing the doctor-patient relationship.”

Other findings of the survey:

• About 20% of participants said they cannot easily reach the doctor’s office to ask questions, make appointments, or obtain lab results.

• 81% said they would schedule their own appointments via a secure Web service and complete medical/registration forms online before those appointments.

• 78% of respondents said they would use a secure online method to access their medical histories and share information with their doctors.

• 59% of Gen Y respondents said they would switch doctors for one with better online access, compared with 29% of baby boomers.

Decipher Research compiled the survey for Intuit Health in January, polling 1,000 American adults online.