MyChart (Patient Portal) (2024)

FAQs

What are the disadvantages of patient portals? ›

Patient portals have limitations such as complexity, limited accessibility, and low engagement rates. In contrast, HIPAA compliant emails are often preferred for their familiarity, ease of use, accessibility, flexibility, and integration with existing systems.

A member of the care team will “look at the chart and if they can figure it out, then they'll just respond. It is “a relatively small percentage of messages that actually find their way to the doctor,” Dr. Hopkins added. “This is something to be used for communication with their care team, not just the physician.”

Messaging your doctor can be a convenient way to get medical advice. You can send a note through MyChart whenever you have time – day or night – and your provider will typically reply in one to three business days.

Some test results are not released to your MyChart account because of their sensitive nature. Your doctor determines which types of test results are able to be accessed through MyChart and which might require an in person conversation.

Patients that struggle with tech have a hard time with things like Pre-Checkin. Not customizable. Very hard to customize the solution to our organization's needs while ensuring upgrades are still possible. Not able to use facial recognition to log in as a patient/user.

Concerns for patient privacy

Patients may be worried about the security of their protected health information (PHI) stored in digital platforms, which could lead to data breaches and unauthorized access.

Information Excluded from the Right of Access

This may include certain quality assessment or improvement records, patient safety activity records, or business planning, development, and management records that are used for business decisions more generally rather than to make decisions about individuals.

MyChart gives you access to your health information and a direct connection to your care team, with tools to help you actively participate in your care.

If you have a non-urgent medical question, you can send a message to your care team. This message is secure, meaning your information stays private as it is sent over the Internet.

Multiple members of your care team may view MyChart messages in order to get an appropriate and efficient response; this may include nurses or advance practice clinicians other than your primary care provider (PCP).

Do doctors tell patients bad news over the phone? ›

Disclosing bad news by phone has become more common since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this meta-analysis of 11 studies (including 4 randomized trials), researchers assessed differences in patients' psychological distress due to disclosure of bad news by phone or in person.

Use MyChart Message Center to have conversations with your doctor or other clinic staff, ask non-emergency medical questions, send test results to your provider from another provider or network, and even upload your official COVID-19 vaccination record.

All lab results are compared to a standard guideline for what is considered “within normal range.” These standards were developed as a guide but are not absolute. You will see an exclamation point (!) next to the result if it's outside of the normal range, but that isn't necessarily a cause for concern.

Has your child ever had an X-ray or an MRI at Cincinnati Children's? These types of tests are called radiology studies. Today, you can view the radiologist's report in MyChart – and now you can also view the images! Follow the steps in this Tip Sheet to learn how.

This final rule makes amendments to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement and Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to provide individuals the right to receive their test reports directly from laboratories.

Some potential disadvantages of patient portals include:

Potential for information overload: Patients may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available in the portal and may not know how to interpret or use the information.

Studies have also highlighted patient-specific barriers, including concerns around privacy and security, access to technology and internet, limited digital or technology literacy, limited health literacy, and a general preference for the face-to-face modality of care.

1. Technology Barriers: RPM requires the use of technology such as wearable devices or mobile apps. Some patients may struggle with technology barriers, such as access to the internet or lack of familiarity with digital devices.