As Meaningful Use continues to impact medical practitioners, a greater emphasis has been placed on implementing patient portals in order to help practices better achieve certain Meaningful Use requirements. Implementing a patient portal is key, but effectively using the portal can be challenging if not set up correctly. Here are some ways to help your practice ensure its patient portal is set up for successful patient engagement.

Selecting an EMR vendor is more than just implementing the software, it’s a relationship, too.

Consumers in the technology age are ingrained with convenience and accessing information within seconds. So it’s only natural that those desires would eventually make its way into healthcare, which is where telemedicine has made its mark.

The primary goal of all medical practices is to provide excellent care to patients, but at the end of the day, a practice is a business. Without a solid patient base, practices cannot be financially successful. Specialty practices that offer elective procedures like cosmetic plastic surgery, fillers and botox injections, and Lasik eye surgery, should not only rely on existing patients for business, but always be looking for ways to bring new patients into a practice. One of the most cost effective ways to build a patient base is through word-of-mouth marketing.

Take one look at the world around you and it’s easy to see—society has gone mobile. In a bi-annual report conducted by Ericsson, they predict more than 70 percent of the world will be utilizing smartphones by 2020. Thanks to this kind of technology, consumers can conceivably access information from any location. As people take advantage of this unprecedented access, it’s only natural to see patients utilize mobile tools for their healthcare, a trend that only seems poised to grow over the coming years.

Physician's Practice estimated Facebook has at least 890 million users in the U.S. alone. Taking note of these key points can help you make sure you're maximizing your potential for ROI in marketing on this platform.

Regardless of the specialty of your practice, your reputation is always going to be one of the most valuable tools that you have when it comes to attracting new patients. The expansion of technology intersecting with the advancement and growth of the field of medicine means that patients have more choice when it comes time to receive care. In order to ensure that you are maintaining your existing client base while also adding new patients, you need to protect and maintain your reputation. While this may have once been solely about offering the best care possible, times have changed. Whether you feel that you're already doing enough to bolster and protect your practice's reputation or are looking for a crash course in it, take a look at these tips.

Making sure you're using your EHR to increase patient engagement can help you get the most out of your product. While EHRs can help to simplify your practice, you don't want to get to the point where they limit your communication with the patient. According to Physicians Practice, 70 percent of practices have reported a decrease in patient face time after EHR implementation. In order to ensure you're getting the most out of your EHR while maintaining meaningful communication, you may want to try techniques like voice dictation to speed up record creation.