Brgeneral Patient Portal (2025)

FAQs

Why do some patients fail to participate in the use of the patient portal? ›

They value face-to-face conversations with their doctors and worry that going digital might take that away. Then there's the worry about privacy. In an age where data breaches are common, some patients are hesitant to put their health information online.

Patient portals can help you access medical records, set up appointments, communicate with your health care professional, and pay medical bills.

A patient portal can serve as a valuable tool in enhancing the patient-physician relationship and reducing work for everyone. Patients can easily gain real-time access to clinical information and message their physician's office.

This online tool helps you to keep track of your health care provider visits, test results, billing, prescriptions, and so on. You can also message your provider questions through the portal. Many providers now offer patient portals.

Many individuals, particularly those with lower health literacy, may struggle to navigate and understand the functionalities of these online platforms. Patient portals often display medical tests and lab results, which can lead to confusion and concerns if users misinterpret the information presented.

Barriers to Patient Portal Use

Tech literacy, socioeconomic status, and internet infrastructure in the patient's community could impact a patient's ability to access devices and/or a wireless connection.

Only 5% of patients who said they were not offered access went on to use a portal, though some providers might not have had portal access to offer. Men, members of racial or ethnic minority groups, Medicaid recipients and patients without a regular source of care were among those less likely to be offered access.

Multiple members of your care team may view MyChart messages in order to get an appropriate and efficient response; this may include nurses or advance practice clinicians other than your primary care provider (PCP).

If results are concerning, they may call you or have a receptionist call to schedule an appointment. 15 A healthcare provider may also call to assure you everything is okay or discuss any needed follow-up tests.

Early interventions, improved access to their care team, and increased efficiency of care delivery can ultimately lead to reduced costs and improved quality of care.

What percentage of patients use patient portals? ›

About 3 in 5 individuals nationwide reported they were offered and accessed their online medical record or patient portal in 2022 — this represents a 50 percent increase since 2020. Figure 1: Percent of individuals nationwide who were offered and accessed their online medical record or patient portal, 2014-2022.

A HIPAA-compliant patient portal is a secure online platform that allows healthcare organizations to exchange confidential lab results and other detailed reports with their clients. The portal meets the standards of the HIPAA, which regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI).

While the most common method of accessing a patient portal was by computer (78 percent), nearly 4 in 10 patient portal users accessed their portal using a smartphone health app in 2020.

MyChart gives you access to your health information and a direct connection to your care team, with tools to help you actively participate in your care.

EMRs, or Electronic Medical Records, are digital versions of the traditional paper charts used by healthcare providers to store patient information. Unlike Patient Portals, which give patients direct access to their health information, EMRs are controlled and managed by healthcare providers.

There are multiple reasons patients miss appointments. They may have forgotten, had transportation issues, or couldn't get off work. Some patients' missed appointments are rooted in negative emotions or anxiety associated with going to the doctor.