<s>
Patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
are	O
healthcare-related	O
online	B-Application
applications	I-Application
that	O
allow	O
patients	O
to	O
interact	O
and	O
communicate	O
with	O
their	O
healthcare	O
providers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
physicians	O
and	O
hospitals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
applications	O
exist	O
as	O
stand-alone	O
web	O
sites	O
and	O
sell	O
their	O
services	O
to	O
healthcare	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Still	O
others	O
are	O
modules	O
added	O
onto	O
an	O
existing	O
electronic	B-Application
medical	I-Application
record	I-Application
(	O
EMR	B-Application
)	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
the	O
lines	O
between	O
an	O
EMR	B-Application
,	O
a	O
personal	O
health	O
record	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
are	O
blurring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Intuit	O
Health	O
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
HealthVault	I-Application
describe	O
themselves	O
as	O
personal	O
health	O
records	O
(	O
PHRs	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
can	O
interface	O
with	O
EMRs	O
and	O
communicate	O
through	O
the	O
Continuity	O
of	O
Care	O
Record	O
standard	O
,	O
displaying	O
patient	O
data	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
so	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
viewed	O
through	O
a	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
central	O
feature	O
that	O
makes	O
any	O
system	O
a	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
is	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
expose	O
individual	O
patient	O
health	O
information	O
in	O
a	O
secure	O
manner	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
virtually	O
all	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
allow	O
patients	O
to	O
interact	O
in	O
some	O
way	O
with	O
health	O
care	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
benefit	O
both	O
patients	O
and	O
providers	O
by	O
increasing	O
efficiency	O
and	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
are	O
also	O
regarded	O
as	O
a	O
key	O
tool	O
to	O
help	O
physicians	O
meet	O
"	O
meaningful	O
use	O
"	O
requirements	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
receive	O
federal	O
incentive	O
checks	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
providing	O
health	O
information	O
to	O
patients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
applications	O
enable	O
patients	O
to	O
register	O
and	O
complete	O
forms	O
online	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
streamline	O
visits	O
to	O
clinics	O
and	O
hospitals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
also	O
typically	O
allow	O
patients	O
to	O
communicate	O
directly	O
with	O
healthcare	O
providers	O
by	O
asking	O
questions	O
,	O
leaving	O
comments	O
,	O
or	O
sending	O
e-mail	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
shortcoming	O
of	O
most	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
is	O
their	O
linkage	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
health	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Portal	O
applications	O
for	O
individual	O
practices	O
typically	O
exist	O
in	O
tandem	O
with	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
,	O
allowing	O
access	O
to	O
patient	O
information	O
and	O
records	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
schedules	O
,	O
payments	O
,	O
and	O
messages	O
from	O
patients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
require	O
the	O
practice	O
to	O
have	O
some	O
type	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
medical	I-Application
record	I-Application
or	O
patient	O
management	O
system	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
patient	O
data	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
data	O
repository	O
then	O
retrieved	O
by	O
the	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
security	O
has	O
always	O
been	O
a	O
top	O
concern	O
for	O
the	O
industry	O
when	O
dealing	O
with	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
SSL	B-Protocol
and	O
access	O
control	O
patterns	O
are	O
commonplace	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Possibly	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
strictness	O
of	O
HIPAA	O
regulations	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
financial	O
incentives	O
for	O
the	O
health	O
care	O
providers	O
,	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
has	O
lagged	O
behind	O
other	O
market	O
segments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
funding	O
will	O
potentially	O
offset	O
the	O
costs	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
medical	I-Application
record	I-Application
systems	O
for	O
practicing	O
physicians	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
conversion	O
to	O
electronic	B-Application
medical	I-Application
records	I-Application
is	O
typically	O
complex	O
,	O
systems	O
often	O
transition	O
to	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
first	O
and	O
then	O
follow	O
with	O
a	O
complete	O
implementation	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
medical	I-Application
records	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
personal	O
health	B-Application
record	I-Application
systems	I-Application
are	O
becoming	O
more	O
common	O
and	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
57	O
percent	O
of	O
providers	O
already	O
had	O
a	O
patient	B-Application
portal	I-Application
in	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
have	O
been	O
developed	O
to	O
give	O
patients	O
better	O
access	O
to	O
their	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
E-visits	O
(	O
remote	O
use	O
of	O
medical	O
services	O
)	O
may	O
soon	O
become	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
options	O
of	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
vendors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
athenahealth	O
,	O
Epic	O
Systems	O
and	O
Cerner	O
offer	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
as	O
one	O
module	O
of	O
a	O
complete	O
Electronic	B-Application
Health	I-Application
Record	I-Application
(	O
EHR	O
)	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
vendors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Allscripts	O
and	O
Medfusion	O
,	O
offer	O
patient	B-Application
portals	I-Application
that	O
can	O
be	O
integrated	O
with	O
any	O
EHR	O
.	O
</s>
