Modest decline seen in portal messaging with billing implementation

Medical Xpress December 31, 2024
Elana Gotkine

Implementation of e-visit billing for responding to patient-initiated messages that require substantive medical decision-making is associated with a modest decrease in patient-initiated portal message volume, according to a study published online Dec. 31 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Shannon M. Dunlay, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined the effect of billing eligible patient-initiated portal messages as e-visits in a retrospective observation pre-post comparison and prospective survey. The volume of patient-initiated medical advice message threads was compared preimplementation versus postimplementation of e-visit billing. An online survey was used to assess health system provider perceptions of e-visit billing.