Patient portals should be routine for GPs

eHealthNews.nz: Digital Patient

Tuesday, 28 February 2023

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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Patient portals should be included as a routine part of general practice, the Royal NZ College of GPs says.

A newly revised telehealth policy statement from the college, also encourages practices to invest in video call technology and consider whether video would provide a better service than a phone call, for patients who can use that option.

The statement says the ability to self-manage appointments, view laboratory results, and request repeat prescriptions gives patients more control and ownership of their health affairs and reduces administrative costs for practices by automating low-value, transactional interactions.

“Most practices in New Zealand now offer patient portals, and the College is of the view that these should be included as a business-as-usual feature of general practice,” it says.

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The statement adds that open notes can provide benefits for patients and can be particularly valuable in relation to telehealth consultations where communication can be more difficult.

RNZCGP chair Samantha Murton says use of telehealth has increased markedly over the past 3-4 years and the majority of GPs are now using some services related to a patient portal.

She says medical notes belong to the patient and can be requested any time, so making them readily accessible online is really no different.

“There’s still a lot of nervousness about open notes from the clinician point of view, but those worries are unrealised by those who have done it,” Murton says.

The revised statement says secure messaging via a portal can be particularly beneficial for patients who can only write and read messages outside of a practice’s normal working hours.

“However, while secure messaging provides a very accessible channel for patients to interact with members, it can be challenging if it is not supported by a clear charging policy,” it says.

Murton tells eHealthNews that charging for online services is fraught with difficulty and being upfront and clear about charging for a GP’s professional services, however they are delivered, is key.

The college statement says telehealth services can be operated with minimal capital investment by relying on existing and freely available tools, but this “does not provide a strong foundation for a practice wanting to make telehealth a permanent and everyday part of their service”.

It says video provides an experience much closer to in-person consultations and can enable a specialist GP to treat a wider range of health concerns than a phone call.

“The College encourages practices wanting to develop a robust telehealth service to invest in the right software, hardware, and network infrastructure to support their vision,” the statement says.

“Purpose-built systems can offer benefits ranging from better patient experiences, integration with practice management software and booking tools, to better access to secondary health services, and stronger security safeguards.”

Murton says that apart from some pots of funding available as part of the Covid response, there has not been specific funding for IT infrastructure for general practice, and while it is can be cost effective to invest, sometimes it is not.