HealthView Offers Online Convenience for Medical Appointments

Three days after Allison Gilbert's physical, she received an e-mail alerting her that lab results were available on HealthView, the web portal for Duke Medicine patients. That evening, in the privacy of her living room, Gilbert accessed her secure account and reviewed her results and physician's comments.Gilbert, a postdoctoral fellow in Duke's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is one of about 200,000 patients using HealthView to accomplish online what used to involve phone calls or office visits. With a click of a mouse, patients of Duke Medicine can schedule appointments, check-in online, view lab results and vital signs and pay bills."It's much easier than trying to coordinate my schedule and my doctor's schedule for sharing results," Gilbert said."The portal makes navigating health care easier, improves communication between physicians and patients and improves the efficiency of Duke University Health System by automating common clerical tasks," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for Human Resources. "We strongly encourage faculty and staff to use the portal. In addition to providing a wealth of information, the tool helps to streamline processes, which can translate into lower costs for our health plans."Over the last year, patient accounts on HealthView grew steadily with approximately 6,000 new patients registering each month. Physicians have added notes to more than 1 million of the 3 million lab results patients accessed through HealthView. "It is a way I can reach patients very quickly in a manner that they are comfortable with," said Bruce Peyser, a physician at Duke Primary Care Pickett Road.The newest function is the ability to schedule primary care visits in real time. For routine, sick or follow-up visits at Duke Primary Care, Duke Family Medicine and Duke Children's Primary Care, established patients can view all available appointments for a particular day or doctor and select the slot they prefer. Patients can reschedule or cancel most primary care appointments up to 48 hours before the visit. They can also schedule same-day urgent care appointments.Users of HealthView receive e-mail appointment reminders a few days in advance, inviting them to check-in for their appointment online and print a bar-coded appointment slip. Self-service registration kiosks are available in 50 clinics, where patients scan the slip to bypass the registration desk.Gilbert, the postdoctoral fellow, initially created her HealthView account last year to view lab results and is now exploring using it to make appointments and pay bills. She finds it convenient to have lab results in one place to compare records and see trends."If I had gotten my lab results on the phone," she said, "I would have lost track of them by now."