OptimisPT Features Spotlight: Patient Portal and OptimumMe™ App

OptimisPT Features Spotlight: Patient Portal and OptimumMe™ App

By:  Jennifer Heiligman, PT, MPT

In this week’s blog we are going to highlight two specific features that are available to our OptimisPT clients.  These features include the OptimisPT Patient Portal and the OptimumMe™ App.  By taking advantage of these features, you can save valuable time, establish a more efficient workflow and promote patient engagement.  Is your practice taking advantage of these tools?

Patient Portal

The OptimisPT Patient Portal provides a safe and secure method to allow your patients to electronically submit their demographics information, insurance information, medical history and complete required forms, all before setting foot in your clinic.  The patient can then update that information overtime, as needed.  In addition, our patient portal is also available in Spanish!

There are many benefits to implementing the use of our patient portal including:

• Decrease patient waiting times at their initial visit.
• Decrease the time it takes to register a patient, saving valuable front desk time and resources.
• Eliminate the need for hard copy papers being filled out by the patient leading to manual entry of the information into the system by your staff, decreasing potential entry errors.
• Alleviate the need to scan signed paperwork into your EMR software saving time and office supplies.

Obstacles to implementing any patient portal are quite common in the healthcare industry.  The barriers can come from both staff and patients alike.  Some staff may be resistant to a change in their workflow.  However, with education regarding the functionality and benefits of the portal, it will become apparent that using the portal will actually make their job easier.  Work with the staff to establish the new workflow in a clear and concise manner that makes sense to them and they will be onboard.   

Another obstacle you may face is patient adoption. Some research suggests only 25% of patients actually use patient portals.  However, this percentage can be bolstered in your practice by explaining the benefits of the portal at the time of initial contact and during each additional patient encounter.

This is where your staff can make an impact.  Starting on the front line, when the patient contacts your office to make that first appointment, the staff should be gathering only the minimal necessary information from the patient to enter into Optimis, including their email, and immediately sending the patient the activation email for the portal.  They should educate the patient on the benefits of using the portal to submit their information, including a decrease in wait time when they come for their first visit.  Prior to calling the patient to remind them of their initial visit, staff should check the Optimis system to see if the patient has activated their account and submitted their information.  If not, the importance of doing so prior to their first visit should be emphasized.

OptimumMe™ App

Our OptimumMe™ app delivers high-quality, personalized physical therapy home exercises and assessments right to your patient’s smartphone, computer or tablet. Backed and guided by clinical professionals, the app allows your patients to receive and complete workouts and outcome measure assessments on their mobile device.  With built-in compliance monitoring tools and direct communication between patients and therapists the OptimumMe app increases accountability and the ability to meet and exceed goals and leads to better outcomes.

Just like the patient portal, patient adoption of the app is critical.  This too can be improved by explaining the benefits of using the app during each patient encounter.  The ideal workflow is to send the OptimumMe activation email at the same time the Patient Portal activation email is sent.  Educate the patient of the benefits of activating the app prior to their initial visit, including the ability of the therapist to send them their home exercise program as soon as their visit is complete.  Another benefit, once additional visits are scheduled, is the patient will be able to easily see their appointments in the app. Telehealth meeting links can also be accessed through the app. If the patient has already activated the app, during the initial visit, the therapist can review the functionality and features with the patient in person on their own device. 

The benefits of implementing the use of OptimumMe within your practice are numerous. The app allows an efficient and seamless method to distribute the patient’s home exercises.  The activities that are included in the HEP2 section of the patient’s visit will automatically flow over to the OptimumMe app, as long as the patient has activated their account.  There is no additional “click” needed by the therapist.  The patient will have access to all the pictures, videos and instructions for each activity and can record exercise completion. They can even send feedback directly to their therapist that will flow back to Optimis.  Patients also receive app notifications, reminders and badges when they meet certain goals to help improve compliance.  In addition, all the information recorded in the app flows back to Optimis to allow the therapist to assess the efficacy of the patient’s HEP.

In addition to the exercises, Outcome Measures can also be sent through the app.  The patient can fill out the outcome surveys with the results flowing back to OptimisPT where they are included in the patient’s medical record.  Right from the app the patient can review their scores and track their progress over time.  Since this information flows back to Optimis, this allows for continuous data collection to see how each patient improves.  This data can then be sent to insurance companies and physicians to help increase patient referrals.

One of the most important benefits of using the OptimumMe app is improved patient engagement.  The direct line of communication to their therapist can help to establish strong relationships between the patient and therapist.  This may help the patient to take ownership over their own health and wellness improving their outcomes.  This can also drive patient loyalty making them more likely to return in the future, if necessary.   

In Summary

If your practice does not currently take advantage of these two great features, we highly recommend taking a closer look.  The value add for your staff is time savings and improved efficiency.  For your patients, the key is to show that the Portal and the OptimumMe app are technology elements that add value to their care.  For the app, the ease of access to the home exercise program, outcome measures and communication to their therapist leads to better compliance, in turn, leading to improved patient outcomes.  Overall, the use of the Patient Portal and the OptimumMe app can lead to a more efficient office workflow and improved patient engagement for your practice.

For our current OptimisPT subscribers, please contact Support if you have any questions or would like to learn more about these features.

If you are not currently an OptimisPT client and would like to learn more about these and other great features of our EMR software please schedule a demo.