Current Patient Appointment with Labs and Blood Draw – Patient

Creating a Portal Account

  • Portal registration is promoted to help patients manage appointment scheduling, review results electronically, and communicate with doctors.
  • Patients can register for the portal during check-in at a Memorial Health facility, by visiting the website, or via a prompted email.
  • Patients visit the portal website and enter personal details, including name, Social Security number, date of birth, and the email address on file.
  • Patients click on the email link, answer the security challenge question, and create a username and password.
  • The system confirms successful registration, granting access to the portal.

Scheduling a PCP Appointment

  • Patient logs into the portal, navigates to the “Schedule Appointment” section, and selects a service type (e.g., Primary Care, Radiology).
  • If unable to schedule through the portal, the patient calls the clinic to make an appointment.
  • Patient is notified via email or phone if their appointment request is still pending manual confirmation.
  • Patient receives a confirmation email or phone call with appointment details, including date, time, location, and preparation instructions.

Appointment Reminders and Notifications

  • Forty-eight hours prior to the appointment, external systems like Mutare extract appointment data from Cerner to generate email or SMS reminders, including necessary details on location and what to bring.
  • Patient reviews reminders and confirms attendance by replying to emails or contacting the facility directly.
  • If patient wishes to reschedule, they must call the facility, and staff manually update Cerner.

PCP Appointment and Lab Referral

  • Patient attends appointment.
  • PCP assesses the patient by collecting symptoms, reviewing medical history, and conducting an examination.
  • PCP identifies the need for labs/blood draw.
  • PCP explains tests needed and why they are recommended.
  • PCP enters details such as type, urgency, clinical notes, and preferred location into the EHR.
  • PCP explains the next steps.

Patient Testing

  • Patient is given instructions for fasting, medication restrictions, or other pre-collection requirements via email or text.
  • Reminder notifications are sent 24-48 hours before the appointment.
  • Patient checks in with lab staff, providing identification and order details.
  • Blood, swabs, or other specimens are collected following detailed guidelines.

Viewing Medical Results

  • Patient is notified via automated text or email alerts when interfaced results are ready.
  • Patient logs into the portal (e.g., Cerner HealtheLife or FollowMyHealth) and navigates to the “Medical Records” section to view diagnostic results, medications, and visit summaries.
  • Positive results include detailed next steps (e.g., additional tests, consultations, or treatments).
  • Patients are provided with links to educational materials explaining test results and their implications.
  • Providers contact patients for critical updates and schedule follow-ups as needed.
  • Patients send messages through the portal for questions regarding results.
  • Patients are prompted to complete a satisfaction survey regarding their lab experience.

Messaging Providers and Administrative Staff

  • Patient composes messages through the portal, selecting predefined categories (e.g., Billing, Appointments, Medications).
  • Messages are routed to a generic inbox monitored by administrative staff, without secure routing to specific providers.
  • Administrative staff review messages and respond with templated replies or forward them to appropriate departments for further action.
  • Complex or urgent queries are escalated to specialized departments, such as Billing or clinical staff, for resolution.
View Technology Map

Step

Technology/Touchpoints
Creating a Portal Account
  • Cerner HealtheLife
  • TouchWorks (FollowMyHealth®)
  • Cerner Identity Verification System
Scheduling a PCP Appointment
  • Phone
  • Cerner Scheduling Module
  • My Memorial App
Appointment Reminders and Notifications
  • Mutare
  • Cerner Email Notification System
  • Cerner (Manual Staff Entry)
PCP Appointment and Lab Referral
  • TouchWorks
  • PathNet
Patient Testing
  • PathNet
Viewing Medical Results
  • FollowMyHealth®
  • Cerner HealtheLife
Messaging Providers and Administrative Staff
  • FollowMyHealth®
  • Symplr

Step

Pain Points
Creating a Portal Account
  • Patient must use Cerner HealtheLife for hospital-related data and FollowMyHealth for outpatient services, creating confusion.
  • Limited functionality of the Cerner HealtheLife portal. Patients cannot schedule or cancel appointments via the portal.
  • Self-enrollment fails if the provided email does not match records.
  • Patient does not receive real-time feedback during the enrollment process about mismatched information, resulting in a frustrating, trial-and-error approach. Automated troubleshooting only begins after errors occur.
Scheduling a PCP Appointment
  • The scheduling module requires staff to manually process and confirm all patient requests, leading to delays. Patients often believe their requests are immediately confirmed, causing misunderstandings.
  • Patients use the My Memorial app to request appointments, but staff must manually input these requests into Cerner, creating a disconnect that leads to scheduling errors and unmet patient expectations.
  • Jacksonville and Decatur use centralized scheduling, while Springfield relies on department-specific processes, complicating coordination across locations.
Appointment Reminders and Notifications
  • Mutare and Cerner email notification systems both send reminders, creating confusion for patients. These duplicate communications increase the likelihood of unnecessary patient inquiries.
  • Patients do not always receive important details, such as fasting requirements for lab work, and must contact the facility for clarification. This inefficiency disrupts the appointment process.
PCP Appointment and Lab Referral
  • Providers use varying templates and systems, resulting in inconsistent order formats.
  • PCPs must navigate an authentication process every time they log into Cerner Millennium, which can delay urgent order entries. This process is critical for security but may feel cumbersome during high-pressure situations.
  • Patients find out later if their insurance denies coverage based on incorrect information being loaded into the system and/or receiving incorrect information based on incorrect orders being entered into the system.
Patient Testing
  • Staff often discover discrepancies between barcoded labels and patient orders during check-in, requiring corrections before proceeding.
  • Missing or unclear instructions regarding fasting, medication restrictions, or other requirements can lead to improper specimen collection.
  • A lack of scheduling abilities makes wait times challenging for patients depending on when they arrive.
Viewing Medical Results
  • Providers must rely on manually uploaded results for non-interfaced tests, delaying availability in FollowMyHealth and other portals.
  • Patients must log into multiple portals to access their full medical records. Cerner HealtheLife provides inpatient data, while FollowMyHealth focuses on outpatient records.
  • The portal has missing or incomplete results because non-interfaced results are not visible in FollowMyHealth.
  • FollowMyHealth only updates when patients log in. Outpatient records are not synchronized in real-time, requiring patients to manually refresh their data by logging into the portal. Notifications for new results are often delayed.
  • Patients often lack sufficient context or resources to interpret their test results.
  • Limited educational tools for getting more information about results.
Messaging Providers and Administrative Staff
  • Messages are sent to a generic hospital inbox rather than specific providers.
  • The FollowMyHealth portal restricts patient messages to predefined categories, which may not encompass all patient needs.

Step

Thinking

Feeling

Quotes
Creating a Portal Account

“This process will help me access my medical records and appointments more easily.”

“Why is this not working?”

Annoyed

 N/A
Scheduling a PCP Appointment

“I want to schedule an appointment quickly and easily for my required service.”

Eager

Accomplished

 N/A
Appointment Reminders and Notifications

“Oh yeah, I have that this week. Let me see if it still works.”

“I don’t want to have to call and find another time.”

Surprised

Busy

 N/A
PCP Appointment and Lab Referral

“What does lab work entail?”

“How long will that take? When can I get it done?”

Nervous

 N/A
Patient Testing

“I hope it doesn’t hurt.”

“Hopefully, I get the results back soon and everything is OK.”

Nervous

“Wish the lab stayed open later. Hard for working families not to be able to go after 4 PM.”
Viewing Medical Results

“I’m confused about my results and want clarification.”

“Everything looks normal. What a relief.”

Uncertain

Confused

Relieved

“They lost my lab order, and I had to come back another day to get my blood work done.”
Messaging Providers and Administrative Staff

“I want more information about my results.”

“Can I talk to my doctor in a timely manner about this?”

Uncertain

Confused

Curious

“I never received test results, even after calling.”

Step

Opportunities
Creating a Portal Account
  • Add real-time validation during self-enrollment to flag discrepancies in the entered email address and provide corrective guidance before submission. Highlight the exact field causing the error to make the process user-friendly.
  • Implement an AI tool to verify patient identity in real time during registration.
  • Unified portal for inpatient and outpatient data. Develop a cloud-based patient portal that integrates inpatient and outpatient data into one interface. This would require back-end system integration using APIs to ensure seamless data flow between Cerner and TouchWorks.
Scheduling a PCP Appointment
  • Add a preformatted appointment request form to the My Memorial app.
  • Build a unified portal system for inpatient and outpatient data.
  • Add a self-scheduling module that integrates with Cerner/provider scheduling.
Appointment Reminders and Notifications
  • Use a centralized notification system that combines Mutare and Cerner email reminders into a single communication, clearly labeling details like appointment type and preparation requirements.
PCP Appointment and Lab Referral
  • Implement standardized templates for all lab orders across systems, like TouchWorks.
  • Replace multifactor authentication with AI-driven contextual risk analysis for adaptive security.
  • Integrate collaboration features, like chat or video conferencing, directly into Cerner Millennium.
  • Fully integrated EHR-LIS platform. Deploy a unified system that integrates EHRs, like TouchWorks and Athena, and LIS platforms such as PathNet.
Patient Testing
  • Send automated SMS reminders to patients before appointments to confirm orders and provide preparation instructions.
  • Integrate arrival notifications with the EHR.
  • Install self-service check-in kiosks.
  • Implement a solution that allows for patient scheduling and/or clear arrival times for lab testing. Explore what’s possible with Epic or if other solutions are needed.
Viewing Medical Results
  • Add a dedicated section in FollowMyHealth for FAQs and educational resources about test results.
  • AI-based virtual health assistant to answer patient questions, explain test results, and assist with follow-ups or appointment scheduling.
  • Unified health data platform that provides patients and providers access to all medical records and test results in one place, improving care coordination and transparency.
  • Implement predictive tools to prioritize critical results for faster action.
  • Place a prominent link in Cerner HealtheLife to access FollowMyHealth and vice versa, ensuring patients can easily locate both inpatient and outpatient records.
  • Enable automatic synchronization of outpatient data when new records are available.
Messaging Providers and Administrative Staff
  • Deploy a secure platform with AI to handle routine queries.
  • Implement a consolidated communication system that integrates all modes of communication into one system for tracking and continuity for patients and staff.
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