Portal helps patients communicate with health team (2024)

photo by: LMH Health

LMH Health, 325 Maine St., is pictured in May 2021.

It never fails. You get home from an appointment with your doctor and it dawns on you that there’s one question you forgot to ask. You can’t always pick up the phone and reach them, so what should you do? If you’re a patient at LMH Health, use My Patient Portal.

“My Patient Portal is a secure site that allows you to access and manage your health information and contact your providers from any device with an internet connection at the click of a button,” said Michael Williams, vice president and chief information officer at LMH Health.

My Patient Portal allows patients to:

— View lab and imaging results

— View visit notes, summaries and vaccination records

— View appointments

— Request medication refills

— Securely message your doctor 24/7

If you’re a patient at LMH Health or one of our clinics and are 18 or older, you are eligible to have a My Patient Portal account. Parents can also register their children who are younger than age 18.

If your current email is on file at LMH Health, you can register for a My Patient Portal account at lmh.org/portal. If you’re not sure, contact Medical Records at 785-505-3093 or email medicalrecords@lmh.org for help.

When should I send a message through the portal?

There are times that it makes sense for you to message your doctor through My Patient Portal. It’s appropriate to share information they requested, such as blood sugar or blood pressure readings, or asking a question about a medication that you’re taking using the portal.

While sending a message to your doctor through a contact form on the LMH website or through Facebook messenger may be fast, those aren’t ways you should share your personal health information. Messaging your provider through the portal is secure, easy and available 24/7. You can expect a response within one business day. If you send a message over a holiday or during the weekend, you likely won’t hear back until the following business day.

And while you can use it to ask other questions that don’t need immediate attention, it’s important to remember that the portal isn’t right in every situation.

“Call your doctor instead of using the portal if you need an appointment the same day or you need to cancel or reschedule one,” Williams said. “And if you’re experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or head to the emergency department.”

Streamline your health care experience

LMH Health has implemented additional technology to make your personal healthcare management simpler. If you’re a patient, you may have received a text or email allowing you to schedule an appointment right from your device. These notifications are made possible through LMH’s partnership with Notable Health.

“Notable uses artificial intelligence (AI) to review electronic health records to determine where gaps exist,” Williams explained. “We then reach out to patients through text and email so they can schedule their recommended care with the click of a button.”

LMH Health is rolling out a new pre-registration process with appointment reminders patients receive by email or text. If you receive a link from checkin.lmh.org, you can verify and update your information to save time when you arrive.

When you receive a text or email to pre-register online, you may be asked to upload your photo ID, such as your driver’s license. This safeguard helps to protect your confidential health information and prevent insurance theft. It’s as easy as using your mobile phone to snap a photo of the front and back of your ID and clicking a button.

Registering for your appointment using this technology isn’t a requirement. If you choose not to register online, you’ll need to complete the registration forms and provide your ID when you arrive at your appointment.

“I recently used Notable for the first time to register my son for an appointment with his primary care provider and it worked amazingly well,” said Rebecca Smith, VP of Strategy and Communications and the executive director of the LMH Health Foundation. “The entire process was seamless.”

The health system will roll out additional features soon, including making it possible for you to make co-payments prior to your appointment and check in digitally before entering the doors to the facility.

“We’re excited about these new advances on the horizon,” Williams said. “It’s important to us that you get great care from your providers and that we make it easy for you to be a patient and access your information.”

Autumn Bishop is the marketing manager and content strategist at LMH Health, which is a sponsor of the Lawrence Journal-World’s health section.