What Role Will the Patient Portal Play in COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts?

 Healthcare has finally seen its strong use case for the patient portal during the COVID-19 crisis, with patients and healthcare providers alike leaning on the technology to coordinate healthcare during the pandemic.

Most successful vaccination efforts utilized patient portals and other forms of digital communication, such as virtual patient education materials focused on the importance of receiving a vaccination and the safety and efficacy of a certain shot. Additionally, the ability to schedule a vaccination appointment via the patient portal improved the odds a patient would actually get her shot.

But moving beyond that, enabling patient data access will require organizations to deliver vaccine appointment scheduling, clear communication about what to do at an appointment, simple messaging about receiving a follow-up vaccine, and an intuitive way for patients to document vaccine receipt.