Utilizing medical assistants to manage patient portal messages shown to support practice and physician efficiency

Portland State University's transportation data centers, PORTAL and BikePed Portal, have received significant updates with new funding and exciting innovations. The $1.6 million PORTAL funding will support its activities for the next five years, while BikePed Portal has secured $100K in additional funding.

A retrospective observational study found that billing patients for portal messages slightly decreased the volume of patient-initiated messages. The results suggest that this approach could help reduce provider burnout by decreasing the burden of portal messages.

New University of Michigan studies find that women primary care physicians are more likely to experience burnout from patient portal messages, but also spend more time managing these messages. Innovative solutions like Patient Asynchronous Care Effort (PACE) slots can help reduce workload and improve physician experiences.

Researchers analyzed 3.6 million patient portal messages, finding that patients from historically marginalized groups were less likely to receive responses from their care teams. Writing style, including length, formality, and sentiment, accounted for nearly half of the differences in response rates among patient groups.

The Baveno VII consensus guidelines have reshaped portal hypertension management, focusing on early intervention and noninvasive diagnostics. Nonselective beta-blockers and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) are recommended for clinically significant portal hypertension diagnosis.

Researchers investigated the effectiveness of systemic thrombolysis for acute portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis patients. After a 7-day treatment period, 60% of patients achieved full recanalization of the portal vein, with no significant side effects.