Increasing Patient Portal Adoption: Practical Strategies
Practical ways to get more patients signed up for and using your patient portal, from easy sign-in to consistent promotion.
Most practices offer a patient portal, but many patients never use it. A portal only saves time when patients actually use it to message, request refills and complete forms. Getting there takes an easy sign-in, a clear reason to log in, and steady encouragement from your team.
Barriers to Adoption
Patient Barriers
- Discomfort with technology
- Privacy concerns
- Forgotten passwords and confusing sign-in
- Not seeing why it's worth the effort
Practice Barriers
- Staff who aren't comfortable explaining it
- Inconsistent promotion
- Complicated registration
- Messages and requests that go unanswered
Practical Strategies
Make Sign-In Easy
✅ Send the invitation by email so patients can start right away
✅ Keep sign-in simple; forgotten passwords are a common reason patients give up
✅ Offer staff help at check-in or by phone
✅ Give clear, short instructions
Give Patients a Reason to Log In
✅ Send intake forms and questionnaires through the portal before visits
✅ Let patients request refills and appointments there
✅ Answer secure messages promptly, and set expectations for response times
✅ Make it the place for visit reminders and follow-up
Promote It Consistently
✅ Mention it at check-in and checkout
✅ Have clinicians recommend it during the visit ("send me a message in the portal")
✅ Include it in appointment confirmations and emails
✅ Add it to your website
Support Patients Who Need Help
✅ Walk patients through it in the office
✅ Short how-to guides or videos
✅ A clear contact for sign-in problems
✅ Simple FAQs
Set Expectations for Messaging
Tell patients what the portal is for and what it isn't. Make clear it is not for emergencies, and include crisis resources such as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, especially in behavioral health.
Jogaza's Patient Portal
Jogaza EHR's web portal is designed to keep sign-in simple: patients sign in with a one-time code sent to their email, so there's no password to remember. In the portal, patients can:
- Send and receive secure messages
- Request refills and appointments
- Complete forms and intake packets
- Send updates for the clinician to review
The portal runs in the web browser; there is no native mobile app, and it doesn't support family or dependent accounts.