Saint Vincent CIO—Why the Patient Portal Sells Itself to Patients

It’s definitely been a focus and a factor for us. Patient engagement, their ability to have information secure, is part of normal compliance in terms of privacy. But in terms of governmental incentive programs, those are certainly significant factors that we take into consideration as we build our entire portfolio, which includes the portal.

What plans do you have for expanding the portal?

Now that it’s in place, we want to optimize it to ensure it’s being utilized properly. This means showing how it can be integrated into the patient’s entire longitudinal record. We utilize Allscripts on the outpatient/ambulatory side and McKesson on the inpatient side. Future plans mean making sure that information is shareable so that we can grab any clinical value from that patient interaction on the portal.

Right now, it only integrates with Allscripts. We’re looking to integrate it the McKesson in the future. But whether it’s clinical or financial information, it’s important that we operate better as a healthcare practice.

What advice do you have for other CIOs trying to implement a portal?

It probably doesn’t even apply to just the portal, but my advice to any IT leader would be to make sure what they’re trying to implement aligns with the business objectives from their healthcare organization. Make sure patients are afforded some kind of tool that they probably expect, when it comes to technology that provides convenience, accuracy, and communication to their healthcare.