Milestone 17: Practice uses technology to offer scheduling and communication options that improve patient access by including alternative visit types and electronic communication approaches.
Goal: Practice offers multiple forms of alternative visit types (e.g. email, Skype, or tele-visits) or communication media (e.g. portal, texting) and has integrated these alternatives into regular practice.
Strategies
Use secure email visits
Use telemedicine visits for patients in rural areas or for specialty consultations
Use home tele-monitoring options
Instruct on receiving payment for e-visits and e-consults
Use text prompts to look at portal messages
Use text appointment reminders with permission
Home International Normalized Ratio (INR) monitoring
Protocols for monitoring urinary tract infection or upper respiratory infection with phone call
Use portal or texting to provide electronic reminders
Use patient portals to avoid unnecessary visits to provider and answer questions by appropriate care team member
Use apps – everyone has a cellphone (almost)
Have portal messages go to the team, not just provider
Implement a system for ongoing review of workflows and train on updates
Assess access in rural areas and consider alternative web access approaches
Use web-based video technology (e.g., Skype) for homebound patients