MyUPMC
MyUPMC is UPMC’s primary patient portal.
With an activation rate of 69% and 7.8 million average monthly logins, MyUPMC continues to prove itself as a convenient tool for patients in their health care journey. In 2023, several new services and features within MyUPMC were activated in an effort to increase patient access including an automated waitlist feature which provided patients earlier appointment times and decreased no-show rates with pre-registration, and an option for patients to complete paperwork ahead of their scheduled appointment. Additionally, MyUPMC expanded into western Maryland in the spring.
Waitlist/Fast Pass
To continue to expand patient access to care, two Epic tools, Waitlist and Fast Pass, went live across the UPMC footprint in March. Waitlist is a feature within Epic which allows providers to check a box if a patient is interested in earlier appointment times due to cancellations. Fast Pass is an automatic approach contacting patients on the waitlist if a sooner appointment comes available. Patients with a MyUPMC account will be notified via text message, MyUPMC push notification, and email when a sooner appointment is available. They can then accept the new appointment date and time or decline it and keep their original appointment. Since launching, patients accepting appointment offers have an average improvement time of 41 days from their original appointment.
Pre-Registration
A new patient pre-registration and arrival process was implemented in April across 7,000 UPMC offices and practice locations. With pre-registration, patients can complete registration prior to their appointment using their own device, on their own time, providing both patients and staff with a time-saving way to collect up-to-date patient information, copays, and consent for treatment. Self-Arrival was also enabled, providing patients with the ability to check in using MyUPMC, instead of visiting a kiosk or the front desk. Accurate and adequate communications to patients are critical to ensure they are taking full advantage of this offering. Communications were developed and are sent to patients when it’s time to pre-register by email, text message, and/or MyUPMC push notification starting seven days before their scheduled appointment.
Expanded ticket scheduling opportunities
Ticket scheduling allows patients to self-schedule specific follow-up appointments ordered by their provider. This offering has expanded significantly in 2023, specifically within Women’s Health, and now includes screening mammograms, DXA scans, subsets of ultrasounds and CT scans, diagnostic mammograms, and pelvic ultrasounds. Ticket scheduling also expanded into guest workflows for non-MyUPMC users.
UPMC Provider Directory
The UPMC Provider Directory continued to make strides in 2023 to improve access through online scheduling. In the last year, the directory grew in the number of providers listed and online scheduling capabilities. As a key component of the systemwide Access initiative, the provider directory now includes all UPMC physicians and advanced practice providers, with 96% of providers having a complete profile including a photo and biography, compared to the Kyruus benchmark of 84%.
Employed Providers
As a part of the patient access initiative, all employed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners were added to the UPMC Provider Directory, totaling 2,000 providers. Each provider has a headshot and biography on their provider profile. As a part of this, Clinical Marketing has been able to run more paid campaigns that drive to the provider directory or a specific provider’s profile.
Online Scheduling
Online scheduling though the UPMC Provider Directory expanded within the last year with patients now having the ability to schedule an appointment with a specific provider on the directory or at a specific location. Patients can schedule an appointment with a specific provider on the directory or at a specific location. Currently, the UPMC Provider Directory includes 2,249 providers and 101 locations that are turned on for online scheduling. Mammography online scheduling continued to be a priority and has since expanded to 48 locations. Online scheduling for UPMC Urgent Care locations allowed patients to reserve times for vaccinations, physicals, COVID-19 testing, and minor illnesses and injuries. At the start of flu season, a patient could also schedule their flu vaccine through the provider directory at an urgent care location or with their primary care provider.
Virtual Care Centers
Virtual care centers also expanded into online scheduling in collaboration with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. The virtual care centers not only provide patients with the opportunity to schedule digitally, but they also allow patients to be seen from the comfort of their home and allow providers to assess the patient to ultimately schedule them into accurate appointment types with an appropriate care team. UPMC Magee-Womens Virtual Care currently has 15 clinics available for patients. Virtual care centers also expanded into the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute with the Varicose Vein and Spider Vein Virtual Care Center.