Why Online Radiology Portals are Good for Physicians and Their Patients
Online radiology portals are slowly moving into the mainstream. The advantages of these information-sharing platforms are clear. Physician portals allow quick, simple referrals and real-time access to diagnostic images, plus immediate interaction for remote members of health care teams. Patient portals give recipients of diagnostic imaging procedures unprecedented information, control over their own health care decisions, and more direct interaction with radiologists.
But are online health portals really working for patients and their physicians? What does the science say about the benefits and/or drawbacks of these tools? A recent surge of studies gives us some idea. Here are a few takeaways from the latest research on radiology portals:
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An early study, published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology in 2015, concluded that “Referring-physician release of radiology reports via the online portal is important to patients, useful to referring physicians, and does not affect referring-physician workloads.” However, the study noted, physicians may wish to delay the release of the radiology reports until after they’ve had the chance to discuss the findings with the patient.
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A more recent study from the American Journal Of Roentgenology suggests that online patient portals create more communication between radiologists and patients themselves. This could be a profound shift; traditionally, radiologists confer with physicians, who then speak face-to-face with patients. Through the use of online radiology portals, patients may benefit from more direct interaction with their radiologists. “Radiologist collaboration with referring physicians is important in providing care in accordance with patient preferences,” the study cautions.
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A 2016 article from the Journal of the American College of Radiology picks up this theme of the changing role of the radiologist in an era of online portals. When patients have direct access to radiology reports, they’ll likely have questions and/or concerns.
“Ultimately, radiologists may have to stop thinking about the radiology report as their final product and, instead, start thinking about the report as a springboard for becoming more active health care partners,” concludes Christoph Lee et. al., authors of Implications of Direct Patient Online Access to Radiology Reports Through Patient Web Portals.
These changes provide benefits to patients and referring physicians alike, the authors suggest: “The published evidence to date suggests that the potential benefits likely outweigh the risks of providing patients with direct online access to their medical records, including their radiology reports.”
Online Radiology Portals for Physicians and Patients at Precise Imaging
Every Precise Imaging location offers physicians access to a robust online portal. There, doctors can make quick referrals, receive radiology reports, and interact with the radiologists who write those reports. We offer 24/7 IT support and simplified payment modalities.
Meanwhile, patients can track their own health care journey through our fully HIPAA-compliant patient web portal. With these digital tools from Precise Imaging, patients, physicians, and radiologists all remain on the same page, striving for better outcomes.
Learn more about Precise Imaging’s online portals by calling 800-558-2223 today.
References:
Gefen, Ron, Michael bruno, and Hani Abujudeh. “Online Portals: Gateway to Patient-Centered Radiology.” AJROnline. American Journal of Roentgenology, July 2017. Web. 18 Sept. 2017.
Henshaw, D., et. al. “Access to Radiology Reports via an Online Patient Portal: Experiences of Referring Physicians and Patients.” PubMed. Journal of the American College of Radiology, June 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2017.
Lee, Christoph, et. al. “Implications of Direct Patient Online Access to Radiology Reports Through Patient Web Portals.” JACR. Journal of the American College of Radiology, Dec. 2016. PDF. 18 Sept. 2017.