Sequel Systems, Inc., a dynamic, service-oriented healthcare technology company, today announced the launch and general availability of SequelMed Patient Portal™, a new, Web-based tool that improves and speeds up communication between physicians and patients, giving patients instant access to their personal health information, and allowing physicians and other healthcare providers more time to focus on delivering the best possible care. SequelMed Patient Portal is the latest addition to Sequel Systems’ suite of healthcare solutions, which includes an electronic health record (EHR), practice and document management software, and e-prescribing technology. More than 12,000 physicians in all 50 states and representing all major specialties currently use the company’s solutions.
In light of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, healthcare organizations are scrambling to demonstrate adoption and use of a certified EHR in order to get a piece of the stimulus pie. However, while transitioning from paper-based to fully electronic environments, it is vitally important to not only create system efficiencies, reduce medical errors and improve outcomes, but also to create a communication and education platform between patients and their providers.
A 2007 study on patient portals in The British Journal of General Practice found that “Record access will result in a closer relationship between GPs [general practitioners] and their patients. Access enables patients to participate in their own care, find out relevant information, and ask about their disease and health…we see record access as significantly improving shared care and improving not only trust in and respect of clinicians by patients, but also trust in and respect of patients by clinicians.”1 That’s where SequelMed Patient Portal comes in.
“Our goal in selecting the SequelMed Patient Portal is to provide our physicians with an additional tool to communicate quickly and efficiently with patients online, while also ensuring that patients have real-time care and access to information that helps them stay connected and actively involved in their own health,” said Dr. Peter Deane, principal, Allergy Asthma Immunology of Rochester (AAIR). “In addition, because the new tool integrates seamlessly with our existing SequelMed EHR installation, we expect to be up and running quickly and experiencing time savings that allow us to better serve the patients who depend on us faster than with other solutions.”