4 Million Patients Go Online With Intuit Health’s Patient Portal

Fast Growth Driven by Patient Demand, Provider Need, Government Incentives for Better Online Health Care Communications

CARY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- More than 4 million patients are now registered to use Intuit Health’s patient portal to easily and securely communicate and complete important tasks online. And that number is growing quickly. According to Intuit Health, the health care unit of Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU - News), more than 1.5 million new patients and 13,200 providers have started using the portal in just the last 12 months. The patient portal is currently offered by more than 44,300 health care providers across the U.S.

Three factors are driving the rapid growth of patient portals:

•Patient Demand: People increasingly want to manage their health care in the same way they do their banking, make travel arrangements and communicate with others – online, securely, at their convenience, using easy self-service tools.
•Provider Need: Doctors increasingly realize that they can reduce expenses, increase revenue, and make their offices far more efficient while building stronger, ongoing relationships with patients by offering them a way to communicate with them outside their limited office hours.
•Government Incentives: Practices want to receive stimulus funds available to them for offering more and better electronic health solutions, including an online patient communication solution, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Electronic Health Record Stimulus plan.

“Patient demand, provider need, and government incentives have created a perfect storm of opportunity for Intuit Health to offer patients and doctors a better way to communicate,” said Steve Malik, president and general manager of Intuit Health. “We know that once patients and doctors experience the benefits of patient portals, they won’t imagine going back to the old way.”

Patients and doctors have used the Intuit Health patient portal more than 42 million times in the last 12 months to more conveniently communicate and accomplish key tasks online, while reducing paper costs dramatically and its impact on the environment. In the last year, patients have used the online solution to complete 553,000 pre-registrations and 707,000 medical forms, request 546,000 medical appointments and refill 137,000 prescriptions, pay 368,000 medical bills, exchange 2.3 million messages for related care and clinical questions as well as receive lab results and clinical summaries, and conduct virtual office visits.

The Doctor is in, 24/7, 365

In a recent study by Intuit Health, 73 percent of patients surveyed said they would use a secure online communication solution to interact with their doctor. In addition, 47 percent said the convenience of anytime, anywhere access is so important that they would consider switching doctors for a practice that offered online communication tools.

The Intuit Health Patient Engagement Study, conducted in April, found 95 percent of doctors want their patients to fill out medical and registration forms online before their appointment.

Intuit research with more than 100 current provider clients also showed the portal is helping reduce the time spent mailing and calling patients with follow-up reminders, while helping doctors stay on schedule, get paid faster and have fewer patient bills go to collection. Patients using the portal are also more satisfied, make fewer phone calls to the doctor’s office and complain less often about waiting room times and filling out redundant forms.

A Meaningful Solution

Intuit Health’s patient portal seamlessly integrates with numerous electronic health records, or EHRs, and practice management systems. In January, the Intuit Health Personal Health Record, 10.7, was certified for timely access of electronic health records by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

Resources:

•Follow Intuit Health on Twitter
• Friend Intuit Health on Facebook
•Intuit Health Press room
•“How Patient Portals Create Value for Patients -- and Fulfill Meaningful Use Requirements” – A White Paper By Elizabeth W. Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

Survey Methodologies

• The Intuit Health Health Care Check-Up was compiled by Decipher Research for Intuit Health in January, polling 1,000 American adults online.
• The Intuit Health Patient Engagement Study was fielded by SurveyMonkey in April, polling 556 practices across the United States online.
• The Intuit Health Patient Portal Client Study was fielded by SurveyMonkey in March-April, polling 113 Intuit Health clients across the United States.

About Intuit Health

Intuit Health improves health care by developing groundbreaking clinical, administrative and financial services that connect providers and patients. We’ve combined Intuit’s legendary approach to simplifying complex tasks with Medfusion’s expertise in provider-patient communications. The result: It’s easier than ever to understand and pay medical bills, get lab results, schedule appointments, and give patients timely electronic access to their health information.

Intuit Health is the largest independent patient portal provider in the country measured by either patients or providers using our system, and is part of the MGMA AdminiServe® Partner Network and a Member Advantage partner for the American Academy of Family Physicians. Learn more at http://www.intuithealth.com.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU - News) is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions grow by providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier for consumers and businesses to manage their money.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.5 billion in its fiscal year 2010. The company has approximately 7,700 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

Intuit and the Intuit logo, Intuit Health, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.

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