Online portals give patients easy access to their health information, messages, and bills. This guide explores the pros and cons of patient portals for your patients, staff, and organization. Download a cost-benefit analysis and pick the right portal for your clinic.
A patient portal is an online platform or app that allows patients to access their medical information. Many patient portals allow patients to pay bills online, interact with their providers, make appointments, and access test results. Patients can use a computer, phone, or tablet.
Patient portals reflect the increasing digitization of healthcare and can benefit patients, providers, and physicians significantly. When an organization implements a patient portal into its Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) systems, it can offer patients, patients, providers, and organizations a 360-degree view of a patient's healthcare interactions. Patient portals are one type of healthcare digital front door that uses digitalization to improve the patient experience.
Some portals enable patients to review their medical history and test results, communicate with their providers, find appointment times, make payments, and more. Many patients also report feeling more empowered in their health decisions, leading to improved health outcomes.
For physicians, patient portals facilitate improved patient connections, one-on-one messaging, prescription management, and referrals. This streamlining helps to maximize the doctors’ valuable in-person time. For organizations, patient portals can lead to significant cost savings and enhance patient satisfaction.
Lakshmi Narayan, Vice President of U.S. Healthcare Operations at Plutus Health
“Patient portals represent one of the most important shifts in the digitization of healthcare over the last several decades,” says Lakshmi Narayan, Vice President of U.S. Healthcare Operations at Plutus Health. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle management operations.
“As modern consumers continually expect digital convenience, healthcare organizations need to step up,” Narayan says. “Patient portals offer this convenience, alongside cost savings for the organization.”
However, Narayan adds that implementing a patient portal comes with its challenges. “You must select the right vendor, prepare your staff, and make a big transition towards a more electronic, automated system. It will provide benefits, but it’s not a pain-free transition.”
Still, the trend is undeniable: The benefits outweigh the challenges, particularly for patients. Any healthcare organization aiming to provide high-quality care using the most advanced technology should adopt a patient portal.
Key Takeaways:
Patients may save money by communicating through the portal, reducing the need for some office visits.
For healthcare organizations, patient portals cut administrative costs and boost revenue through better patient collections.
Practitioners can conveniently connect with patients through a portal, but some express concerns about increased workload and fair compensation.
A patient portal involves significant upfront costs to procure the software, implement it, and ensure regulatory compliance.
To maximize the return on investment, organizations should use educational outreach to ensure enough patients use the portal.
Benefits of Patient Portals
The biggest benefit of patient portals is better healthcare outcomes. Research suggests that portals improve healthcare quality and efficiency. Other benefits include lower costs for organizations and patients, streamlined tasks like making appointments and payments, and improved patient collections.
“Patient portals start by improving the patient experience, which then creates many reverberating effects that benefit everyone involved in the patient’s experience,” describes Arun Kumar, a developer at Calpion Inc.
“We're focused on improving patient convenience, especially with payments,” Kumar says. “Enhanced patient satisfaction directly impacts revenue and organizational health. Plus, it gives physicians and stakeholders more ways to engage with patients throughout their healthcare journey."
Advantages of Patient Portals for Healthcare Organizations
One big advantage of patient portals is the administrative cost savings for healthcare organizations. Portals also encourage patient payments, providing more revenue. Last, they reduce the staff’s administrative burden. Researchers say these advantages outweigh the portal’s cost.
Here’s a detailed summary of the main advantages that patient portals bring to healthcare organizations:
Saves money
Patient portals can save money by reducing administrative costs and improving front-end efficiency. The clinic gets fewer phone calls because patients ask questions on the portal. That tends to ease the staff's workload and allows them to answer questions as they have time. Also, transitioning to e-statements saves organizations significant printing expenses.
For example, a 2017 study, Effects of Doctor-Patient Portal Use on Health Care Utilization Rate and Cost Savings, demonstrated that a patient portal led to significant savings for a large Ohio-based healthcare organization. Over three years, they saved $171,473 for 2000 portal users, averaging $89.73 per patient.
A 2011 California HealthCare Foundation's report, Measuring the impact of patient portals: what the literature tells us, reported similar findings, citing printing and mailing savings of $0.63 per patient and $17 of savings per patient from lower administrative costs associated with reduced phone calls.
Studies also suggest that fewer cancellations, lower staff expenses, and shortened hospital stays result in lower per-patient costs.
Increases revenue from patient payments
Patient portals have the potential to significantly improve patient payments because patients are far more likely to pay online than through the mail.
Many surveys indicate that patients want more online options to pay their medical bills. For example, a 2021 US Bank Healthcare Payments Insight Report that surveyed 1,113 U.S. adults said that over half of the respondents prefer the ease of digital payment methods. Also, 37% want more options to pay on a patient portal. With online patient portals, the organization has more options to track and remind patients of their payments. In contrast, it's far easier for a statement to slip under the cracks in a system that relies on mailed statements and personal checks.
“The portal gives the administration complete visibility of the patient statement cycle,” Narayan says. “With a patient portal, the physician or practice management admin will be able to see how many statements remain active, how many patients have logged into their portals, and even the total number of complete transactions.”
However, no peer-reviewed publications or reports have formally reported on the impact of patient portals on patient collections.
According to the 2017 paper The Effects of Doctor-Patient Portal Use on Health Care Utilization Rates and Cost Savings, portal use reduced the average number of times physicians see patients. That reduction enables doctors to handle more patients effectively.
The researchers collected and analyzed data from a large Ohio organization that adopted a patient portal. The study also noted a significant decline in telephone calls among active patient portal users. That indicates that portal use can substitute for office visits and telephone interactions, particularly for patients with chronic medical conditions.
Narayan confirms that patient portals can significantly reduce the administrative burden on front-desk staff and administrators. He contrasts the patient portal to the traditional system of contacting patients, particularly for billing.
“Traditionally, we would have to mail patients their statements or any forms, which incurred substantial financial and time costs at every step, from printing to mailing,” he says.
Narayan also says that a traditional mail-based system made it impossible to track the patient's response, especially if the patient moved. “In contrast, a patient portal offers a far more cost-effective solution. With just two prerequisites—an email address and a patient's cell phone number, which typically don’t change—we can send statements without any mailing costs."
While the research paper acknowledges some opportunity costs associated with fewer appointments, it argues that the overall benefits outweigh these costs. Additionally, the fewer in-person visits are more focused and meaningful for everyone involved.
Provides the ability to send targeted educational messages
Patient portals enable educational messages to specific groups of patients, such as those sharing common demographics or health concerns.
For instance, the portal can automatically send health reminders to adults approaching the age for preventive health measures. This simplifies the process for front-desk staff and physicians and increases the number of patients who take preventative health measures.
Reduces no-show appointments
According to the 2020 review Capturing the Impact of Patient Portals Based on the Quadruple Aim and Benefits Evaluation Frameworks: Scoping Review, most of the 96 studies it reviewed reported that patient portals result in fewer no-show appointments. While the study did not quantify the relative decrease, it observed a consistent trend across most research papers.
The researchers suggest that these changes result from improved convenience for the patient, who can make appointments online that align better with their schedule.
Additionally, some studies reported reduced emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations. The researchers said this may relate to improved secure messaging between physicians and patients, which increases preventative measures and may reduce the need for ER visits.
These decreases in no-show appointments and ER visits can improve efficiency and cost savings for organizations.
Advantages of Patient Portals for Doctors
Patient portals help doctors manage more patients and form stronger connections with each individual. They help doctors manage routine tasks through the portal, like making referrals and prescription requests. Then, the doctors have more valuable in-office time for meaningful health interactions with patients.
Here’s a summary of the advantages of patient portals for doctors:
Potentially increases the number of patients a doctor can accommodate
The 2017 study, The Effects of Doctor-Patient Portal Use on Health Care Utilization Rates and Cost Savings, reported that active portal users in a large Ohio health organization reduced their office visits by 17% over three years. This statistic suggests patients were comfortable asking certain questions on the portal instead of making an in-office appointment.
This initial reduction in office visits gives the doctors more time with other patients, improving access in a field with high demand and long delays. In fact, the study notes that the reduction in office visits that comes from adopting a patient portal can lead to an average of 26 increased patients per doctor per year.
Improves the doctor-patient relationship
Patient portals facilitate secure messaging between patients and doctors. Patients can ask questions, share information, request prescriptions, and request a referral to a specialist.
This shifts healthcare toward a comprehensive, holistic approach that puts the patient at the center. Improved communication also improves the patient's trust in the doctor, improving clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.
For example, researchers reviewed 32 studies that evaluated patient portals for a 2014 research paper, How Outcomes are Achieved through Patient Portals: A Realist Review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
They reported that most studies show that patient portals significantly improve the patient-provider relationship. They wrote: “Patient portals allow patients to communicate asynchronously with a preferred provider, enabling them to build an ongoing personal relationship that includes mutual trust and responsibility. Patient-provider communication alone was linked to [improved] continuity of care in more than 50% of the studies.”
This improved communication helps providers and their patients understand long-term health management. That can increase the doctor’s impact on the patient’s health.
Improves medication adherence
Numerous studies have explored the link between patient portal use and medication adherence.
Researchers summarized 96 studies in a 2020 review, Capturing the Impact of Patient Portals Based on the Quadruple Aim and Benefits Evaluation Frameworks: Scoping Review.
The researchers reported that most of the studies reported improved
They write that portal features like web-based reminders, secure messaging with physicians, and automated prescription renewals help patients manage their medication.
This improved medication adherence facilitated by patient portals can lead to better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs, ultimately benefiting healthcare providers by enabling more effective management of health conditions.
Advantages of Patient Portals for Patients
The major advantage of patient portals is that they give patients convenient access to their health info, bill payment, and messaging with the office. This transparency can lead to better health outcomes.
Through a portal, patients may request prescription refills, schedule appointments, review their lab results, communicate with their doctors, and make payments. As a result, their health outcomes tend to improve. They feel more knowledgeable, and they experience more connection with their physician. Plus, most patients report spending far less time and energy managing their health because they can often use the portal instead of traveling to a clinic.
Here's a more detailed look at the main advantages of patient portals for patients:
Can increase the quality of health outcomes
Numerous studies suggest that patient portals can positively affect active users' health outcomes.
A 2021 study, The Impact of Digital Patient Portals on Health Outcomes, System Efficiency, and Patient Attitudes: Updated Systematic Literature Review, investigated the impact of patient portals on healthcare outcomes for patients.
The researchers reviewed 47 articles that studied whether patient portals could improve the health outcomes of active users. The authors reported that, in general, there was a significant association between positive health outcomes and patient portals. In particular, the research showed that patients who used portals were more likely to engage in preventive health measures.
The positive impact on health outcomes was particularly strong in patients with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, rheumatic disorders, or high blood pressure. The researchers also said patient portals can improve mental health outcomes.
The authors suggested that secured messages, registration in automatic prescription refills, and improved educational messages on the portal were responsible for these benefits.
Offers more convenient ways to pay
Patient portals offer convenient methods for patients to view and pay their statements. Also, they can ask questions directly in the portal, which reduces their need for in-person visits or telephone calls. Overall, patient portals offer new ways to automate patient payments that will significantly impact an organization’s bottom line.
"Through a simple click, patients gain instant access to their patient statements and can conveniently settle their bills explains Kumar, the software developer at Calpion Inc. "With features like setting up recurring payment plans, securely storing card information for autopayments, and various payment options, including e-checks, debit cards, and more, we strive to offer seamless and versatile payment solutions.
Provides convenience and cost savings
Numerous studies on the impact of patient portals show that patient portals significantly improve the overall convenience of healthcare interactions for patients.
Most studies suggest that portals give patients more convenient ways to address basic questions, request prescription refills, make appointments, and even get healthcare advice — all without traveling to the doctor’s office. Admins can also use the portal to easily create an automated system that sends payment and appointment reminders to patients.
One study, Effects of a Web-Based Patient Portal on Patient Satisfaction and Missed Appointment Rates: Survey Study, surveyed 957 patients who actively used a patient portal for two years. Of those patients, 51% reported that the portal saved them time, and 48% said the portal helped them avoid a clinic visit.
Another survey of 112 patients reported in the same study asked about cost savings. Of those 112 patients, 38.4% said they believed the portals saved them significant amounts of money, and 22% reported saving on parking and gas because they could ask questions via the patient portal and skip traveling to the clinic.
Enables better engagement with providers and increased awareness
Patient portals facilitate better engagement between patients and providers by providing access to their medical histories.
In particular, patient portals usually allow patients to see test results as soon as they're ready. In the 2020 survey we cite above, Effects of a Web-Based Patient Portal on Patient Satisfaction and Missed Appointment Rates: Survey Study, over two-thirds of the 957 respondents said that access to laboratory and diagnostic imaging results was their favorite portal feature. Also, 83% of respondents said it made communication more convenient.
Another review of patient portal literature, the 2020 Capturing the Impact of Patient Portals Based on the Quadruple Aim and Benefits Evaluation Frameworks: Scoping Review, reported that having access to the doctor's clinical notes has a positive impact on the patient's experience. They cited one study that reported that this access to doctor's notes “refreshed their memory, clarified their understanding, and improved their understanding of their condition.”
In a 2019 study, Opennotes after 7 Years: Patient Experiences with Ongoing Access to Their Clinicians' Outpatient Visit Notes, the researchers surveyed a large dataset of patients who used patient portals and read their doctors’ notes on the portals.
The main challenge of patient portals is implementing them effectively to serve patients, doctors, and healthcare organizations. That means providing convenient access and getting patients to use the portal. Overcoming these challenges takes time, energy, and money.
“The major challenge of patient portals revolves around barriers to access for some patients,” Narayan says. “For organizations, the relative benefit of the portal really hinges on enough patients signing up. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions regarding portals' privacy and security concerns. Some older patients might not even be aware of how to sign up or that the portal even exists.”
Disadvantages of Patient Portals for Healthcare Organizations
The main disadvantage of patient portals for healthcare organizations is the upfront implementation costs. Some also find that the portals don’t save them money. Also, the return on investment depends on patient engagement, which can be difficult for organizations to manage.
Here's a summary of some of the challenges of implementing a patient portal for healthcare organizations:
Paying the upfront cost to establish an effective system
The initial cost of establishing an effective and efficient patient portal system can be daunting, especially for larger healthcare organizations catering to a substantial patient base.
In the 2020 review, Capturing the Impact of Patient Portals Based on the Quadruple Aim and Benefits Evaluation Frameworks: Scoping Review, the researchers evaluated and summarized 96 papers on the impact of patient portals.
They wrote: “The challenge of implementing portals has been the upfront cost of establishing an effective and efficient system. Furthermore, studies show that most of the health information technology investments are struggling to achieve the anticipated benefits.”
Integrating the software, training staff, and transitioning patient records can be cumbersome. The work demands a significant financial and time investment from the organization, which must also ensure it complies with patient portal regulations.
The researchers also noted that some organizations lost federal funding that would have helped them transition to EHR systems, including patient portals.
Educating and motivating patients
The success of a patient portal hinges significantly on patient participation.
“The return on investment for organizations hinges on how many of their patients use the portal,” explains Narayan. “If you can manage to get a significant portion of your patients on the portal, it’s by far the most effective way of communicating with the patient.”
He adds, “But you must make that educational outreach effort first, especially for older demographics who may not feel as inclined to use an online portal. We encourage organizations to invest in marketing and educational tools and train their front-desk staff to educate patients about the portal.”
Performing these outreach efforts adds to the cost of implementing a portal and can yield mixed results depending on your patient demographic.
Disadvantages of Patient Portals for Practitioners
The main disadvantage of patient portals for some practitioners is that payors may not compensate them for their time on the portal. Some physicians find that the portal increases their workload. Also, some practitioners worry that the portal will change the way they practice.
Here’s a list of the main challenges and concerns that patient portals cause for practitioners:
Not getting paid for “in-portal” time
The 2017 article, The Effects of Doctor-Patient Portal Use on Health Care Utilization Rates and Cost Savings, reported that many. They wrote, “Currently there is massive free riding by most insurance companies concerning physicians’ costs of operating the patient portal, as they typically pay nothing toward these costs.”
Other studies report similar concerns among physicians who fear that the portal will increase their workload without compensation because most payors haven’t established any system.
Negative impacts on workflow and workload
In the 2022 survey, Capturing the Impact of Patient Portals Based on the Quadruple Aim and Benefits Evaluation Frameworks: Scoping Review, the researchers summarized that many papers showed that providers perceive portals as increasing their workload.
For example, the review described cases where patients contacted them for “nuisance inquiries” or minor health questions. According to the review, some providers also reported that patients were asking “duplicate” questions, which increased their workload with tedious tasks. The review cited one study that reported that physicians spend an average of 8.2 hours per week on the portal.
Negative impacts on workflow and workload
Within the same 2022 review, researchers highlighted findings from two studies investigating whether patients could understand the test results accessed in the portal. These studies revealed a common sentiment among patients: Many felt healthcare providers either failed to use easy-to-understand language or did not explain the test results in detail.
This confusion can cause patients to grow unnecessarily anxious when reading their test results. Moreover, physicians are more responsible for communicating test results in layman's terms rather than medical jargon. The review underscores that some providers experience stress contemplating the possibility of patient misinterpretation, leading some to prefer discussing results verbally with patients.
The potential anxiety around test results underscores a broader concern that the 2022 paper briefly summarized: In numerous physician surveys, many say that they feel concerned that patient portals could change how they practice medicine and engage with patients.
Disadvantages of Patient Portals for Patients
For patients, the major disadvantage of patient portals revolves around security and privacy concerns. Also, some patients find the portals hard to use and would rather engage with their doctor in person than online, even for small inquiries.
Many patients say certain barriers prevent them from signing up for a portal. Their biggest concerns involve patient portal security and privacy. Healthcare organizations must understand these perceived barriers and ensure they engage patients with educational materials to dispel misconceptions.
Here are common challenges that patient portals present for some patients:
Perceived barriers to access
A significant body of literature highlights that many patients perceive significant barriers to using portals. In the 2021 review, The Impact of Digital Patient Portals on Health Outcomes, System Efficiency, and Patient Attitudes, researchers summarized the results of nine articles that summarized barriers that patients face to accessing a patient portal.
The researchers state that, across the articles, patients still report numerous concerns about safety, fees for using the portal, doubts about the portal’s reliability, and more. All these concerns can cause stress for the patient and prevent them from signing up for the portal.
Security and privacy concerns
One of the most significant concerns voiced by patients revolves around the security and privacy of their medical records. Specifically, many patients worry that individuals and insurance companies could access their health records.
For instance, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) conducted a survey involving over 6,000 adults across the United States to gauge their experiences with patient portals. The findings revealed that, among the adults who chose not to access a patient portal, 25% of them cited security and privacy concerns.
In one of the studies that the research team analyzed, 52.6% of the participants wanted the portal to improve its display and overall usability. About 24% of patients had higher expectations based on their idea of what functionalities a patient portal should provide, and 22% had technical issues.
Kumar, the software developer at Calpion, acknowledges that while patient portals promise greater efficiency for patients over time, the initial login process often feels daunting for many users.
"Creating an account still requires considerable time, involving multiple security checks to verify identity," he explains. "If patients don't perceive the portal as sufficiently valuable, they may simply opt out of the registration process altogether."
Not everyone has a device and internet access
Patients without reliable access to a patient portal via a personal device are not likely to set up an account. This issue can create a disparity in access that disproportionately affects older patients and those living in rural areas.
Building the Business Case for a Patient Portal
To make a business case for a patent portal, show how it improves patient outcomes while reducing costs. Tools like SWOT analysis or cost-benefit analysis demonstrate these benefits to stakeholders. Also, patient demand for portals is growing.
For healthcare organizations, a patient portal doesn’t just represent new technology that might improve the patient experience. It’s a strategic business decision that can improve operational efficiency, cut costs, and increase revenue.
Patients expect healthcare to keep pace with other industries in digitizing their experience, and healthcare organizations are responding accordingly. The numbers back this up: According to a Market Research Future 2021 analysis, the global patient portal market will reach $3.1 billion by 2032, with 16% compound annual growth between 2023 and 2032. Also, in 2022, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information reported that, in 2022, three in four individuals had access to medical records online, a 24% increase since 2020.
That means that, as more organizations adopt patient portals, it’s no longer a matter of “if” but “when” for any healthcare organization that wants to stay afloat.
However, it's not as simple as just setting up a portal and expecting it to work wonders. As Narayan emphasizes, "To truly reap the benefits and maximize the potential of patient portals, healthcare organizations must educate their patients about the tool and ensure it becomes an integral part of their healthcare experience.”
Narayan adds: “If you can convince a significant portion of your patient pool to join, and you select a solid vendor, the business case for a portal becomes very compelling.”
Patient Portal SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis pinpoints an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Healthcare organizations can use it to decide how to implement a patient portal. This analysis helps the organization create a strategy that leverages its strengths and addresses potential issues.
The benefit of a SWOT analysis is that it forces an organization to define both its unique assets and obstacles discreetly. It gives you a comprehensive understanding of your situation and allows you to plan for your future and make informed decisions based on your goals.
Patient Portal SWOT Analysis
Download our free patient portal SWOT analysis to plan for the strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses that a patient portal could bring to your organization.
Cost-benefit Analysis of Patient Portals
A cost-benefit analysis of patient portals usually shows that the benefits outweigh the costs. The specifics depend on your organization’s size, the portal vendor, your patient demographics, and more. Do a thorough cost-benefit analysis to gauge the impact of adopting a patient portal.
Our cost-benefit analysis considers the major recurring and non-recurring expenses associated with setting up and maintaining a patient portal. We also include the most significant benefits and sample data backed by experts and peer-reviewed research.
Free Cost Benefit Analysis of Implementing a Patient Portal
AnodynePay’s patient portal transforms the typical healthcare experience. Anodyne puts patient convenience and satisfaction as a top priority. Also, providers and patients enjoy slashed costs and faster, more personalized healthcare interactions. With AnodynePay, the vision of streamlined healthcare becomes a reality.
AnodynePay's Patient Portal is changing the game of patient portals. AnodynePay understands that happier patients lead to stronger, more robust, and improved practices. That's why AnodynePay employs patient-focused tactics to create a portal that makes it a breeze for patients to interface with their healthcare providers. The numbers speak for themselves: a 75% increase in patient satisfaction and an 80% increase in patient collections.
With all patient statements, reminders, and collections centralized on one convenient platform, AnodynePay sets up your organization to slash administrative costs while providing the convenience modern patients demand and expect. AnodynePay also uses the most secure patient portal technology to ensure patients enjoy security alongside convenience and transparency.
Thomas John has 30+ years of experience in healthcare RCM and IT. He is the founder and CEO of Plutus Health Inc., one of the biggest healthcare RCM companies in the US. Thomas has comprehensive knowledge of AI-driven practice management and billing software. He believes in providing an end-to-end solution for revenue cycle and practice management.
