Referrer portal
The referring portal (other terms referrer portal , referring portal or doctor portal ) is a web-based platform and is used for digital access to patient-related data of the hospital by the physician providing follow-up treatment.
The portal is implemented as a web-based extranet, to which only authenticated resident doctors have access, implemented by hospitals in their IT landscape and made available to the referring doctors. The referring doctor only needs an internet-enabled computer to access the portal . Using the portal is just as easy as online banking.
Characteristics of referring portals
In most cases, referring portals are based on a hospital. The data storage is in the hospital. The data is only available for inspection for a limited time. Data are already available to the resident doctor during the inpatient stay. Referral portals are used to support treatment processes. This includes both treatment-related information, as well as structural or organizational information (events, news, process descriptions). In most cases, referring portals contain the option of mapping workflows (appointments, consultation inquiries, follow-up forms, etc.).
Differentiation from electronic patient files
Electronic patient files (abbr .: EPA) store treatment data across all treatments and for life or exactly as long as archiving is prescribed and permitted (e.g. 30 years after the last case in the hospital) - not limited to the medical case as in referring portals .
The focus is on medical / nursing information and is used in a network of service providers - referring portals support the course of treatment from the preliminary examination to the inpatient stay and follow-up treatment. Coordinating and logistical functions are available for the treatment data.
Differentiation from referral marketing
Maximum and standard care hospitals in particular are increasingly relying on doctors in private practice in the region. In addition to a referring portal, there are other ways to get in touch with referring physicians. When does a doctor recommend a hospital out of conviction, when is he reluctant to send his patients there? One of the main aspects is the hospital's information policy. A lively exchange - in addition to high medical competence and availability - is a strong argument for effective cooperation.
The focus is on conveying facts and transparency in order to retain this target group in the long term. In principle, all measures must spare the physician's limited time window, cause him little effort and bring immediate benefits.
Goals and areas of application
The referring portal was developed as part of the restructuring of the healthcare industry. It is an effective means of overcoming natural communication problems between hospitals and co-treating doctors, advancing integrated care and ensuring the best possible care for patients. Referring portals can serve different purposes:
- Improved recording management
The admission process in the hospital can be optimized through the support of the resident doctor in coordinating appointments (e-book), through the electronic transfer of previous findings and the possibility of queries before the admission.
- Improved discharge management
Doctors in private practice today often only receive part of the information necessary for follow-up treatment. Missing data leads to suboptimal processes in the practice of resident doctors, as well as to a loss of quality in treatment. The doctor performing the follow-up treatment receives more detailed data (e.g. findings, diagnoses, therapies) via referring portals in a shorter time (immediately after recording).
- Support in integrated care projects (§§ 140a-d SGB V)
Integrated care projects (IGV) are characterized by the coordinated partial treatment of several service providers across institution and sector boundaries for total treatment. As part of the partial treatments, service records and documentation are to be created in a distributed manner. Agreed process steps must be adhered to and monitored. Referring portals offer the possibility to map processes of the IGV with hospital participation and to map the processes and to actively support them in addition to the treatment data necessary for all participants (through information etc.).
Provider (examples)
literature
- Sascha Saßen, Michael Franz: Referrer marketing with cross-sector communication. Economica Verlag, Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-87081-536-3 .
- André Peters, Sara Bode: Referrers, referrers and multipliers - design networks to secure occupancy. Vincentz Network, Hannover 2011, ISBN 978-3-86630-146-7 .