Patient messaging via portals is helpful but may lead to increased administrative work, with possible billing for fewer messages.
Billing patients for portal messages led to a decrease in questions, but physicians generally welcomed this change.
A study found over two-thirds of clinicians reported little effort in billing patients, with most satisfied with e-visit billing.
However, e-visit billing didn’t reduce the time clinicians spent answering portal messages, according to most respondents.
Shannon M. Dunlay, MD, MS, and colleagues published a study in Annals of Internal Medicine showing significant growth in portal messages.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, portal messages increased by 157%, prompting hospitals to allow billing for messages requiring medical decisions.
Dunlay highlighted that electronic communication is convenient, but responding to messages outside regular hours strains doctors and care teams.
Researchers surveyed Mayo Clinic staff between August 2023 and February 2024, focusing on e-visit billing effects.
Only 0.3% of messages were billed in the first six months after e-visit billing began, with fewer patient communications.
No difference in emergency service use was found between patients who sent portal messages and those who didn’t.
While providers supported billing, concerns about the extra effort arose, but 50.7% were satisfied with the billing process.
Dunlay concluded that optimizing digital health care interactions can improve patient satisfaction, outcomes, and reduce provider burnout.
