Patient engagement is one of the hottest topics in healthcare technology right now. Has your practice said, “I do” to patient engagement?




Many providers have embraced patient health portals, direct messaging, and reputation marketing to improve care quality and provide better patient experiences. Adoption will continue to grow in 2016 with changes to Medicare payments emphasizing patient experience and quality of care over procedure volume, not to mention 2015 Meaningful Use requirements and the cost saving Affordable Care Act. It is clear that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and online patient portal tools, like MacPractice products, are vital to engaging patients. 

According to Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), “A patient's greater engagement in healthcare contributes to improved health outcomes, and information technologies can support engagement. Patients want to be engaged in their healthcare decision-making process, and those who are engaged as decision-makers in their care tend to be healthier and have better outcomes.”

Still not convinced? Below are five myths that may be holding you back from offering your patients the latest technology developments for quality care.


Myth 1: Patient engagement is just hype.

When given the chance, over 80% of patients will take the opportunity to access their health information electronically.1 Once they’ve logged in, communication between patients and doctors improves engagement rates by over 60%.2


Myth 2: My patients don’t care.

Nearly 75% of patients want to easily access their healthcare data to improve their understanding of their health and communicate with their providers.3


Myth 3: My older patients aren’t interested in online tools.

Patients 60-69 years old show no difference in their adoption rate for portal accounts when compared to 30 year old patients. Patients in their 70s registered for a patient portal just as often as those in their 20s.4


Myth 4: My patients may like it, but I won’t. 

Online engagement results in a 90% satisfaction rate for both patients and providers. 5


Myth 5: It won’t make an impact in patient care.

Patients who use an online portal were more likely to receive preventative tests and screenings, including cancer and mammogram screenings.6


1. http://go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/HIT_Making_IT_Meaningful_National_partnership_February_2.pdf

2. http://www.mhealthnews.com/news/using-survey-patient-engagement-tool

3. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/despite-push-for-transparent-medical-records-53-of-consumers-cant-access-electronic-health-data-healthmine-survey-finds-300195602.html

4. https://hbr.org/2015/06/using-data-to-increase-patient-engagement-in-health-care

5. http://www.healthpcp.com/content/blog/55-cms-statistics-from-ahima

6. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/kaiser-online-tools-increase-likelihood-patients-will-receive-preventative-care