Newswise — Geisinger announced today that the first 100,000 patients have registered for the system's Internet patient portal MyGeisinger, an online tool that allows patients to contact their physicians directly, make appointments and pay medical bills 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"MyGeisinger dramatically improves the dynamic between patient and healthcare provider and ultimately improves the quality of patient care," said Geisinger President and CEO Glenn Steele Jr., MD, PhD. "We will continue our efforts to register interested patients and move to the next major milestone."
Healthcare experts say that giving patients access to their health records through password-protected sites like MyGeisinger helps engage patients in their own care and improves efficiency. President Bush has pushed for all U.S. citizens to have access to electronic medical records by 2014.
While some providers are currently developing their patient portals, MyGeisinger is one of the largest on the Internet today. About 2,000 new users join per month. When patients log into MyGeisinger, they get direct access to their medical record. Using the site, patients can also renew prescriptions, view lab test results and seek advice for non-urgent medical problems
Primary care physicians and specialists within the Geisinger system — which includes three hospitals and 40 community practice sites —send messages to their patients through the site. In fact, more than one quarter of all MyGeisinger activities involve users reading and sending messages.
Geisinger Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery Anthony Petrick, MD, is one of the physicians who uses MyGeisinger to enhance patient care. He started using MyGeisinger last fall to connect with his bariatric surgery patients, all of whom have questions about their post-surgery progress and require many consultations. Petrick says his patients can reach him at their convenience, without leaving their home unnecessarily. And he can track their progress and identify issues on a real-time basis.
"MyGeisinger is a great way to stay in contact with my patients wherever they may live," Dr. Petrick said. "The more effectively I communicate with them, the more I know about them. And that helps me make better, more informed decisions about their care."
"Enrolling the first 100,000 patients is a great accomplishment," Dr. Steele said. "MyGeisinger is a key part of the highly sophisticated, patient centered information technology infrastructure that Geisinger has built in the last decade."
About Geisinger Health SystemFounded in 1915, Geisinger Health System (Danville, PA) is one of the nation's largest integrated health services organizations. Serving more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country's rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. Geisinger is comprised of three medical center campuses, a 700-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and the Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes.For more information, visit http://www.geisinger.org
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