A growing number of health systems are starting to charge patients for asking for their physicians' advice through online patient portals, such as MyChart. Here are some hospitals and health systems partaking in the trend:
- Omaha-based Nebraska Medicine will begin charging patients for MyChart messages that require more than 5 minutes of a provider's time starting Sept. 12.
- Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center started billing patients for MyChart messages that require medical advice.
- Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic said it plans to charge patients up to $50 for patient portal messages to their providers.
- St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare has begun billing patients for MyChart messages.
- University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center began charging patients for some messages sent through MyChart on July 17.
- Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine said it will begin charging for some MyChart messages July 18. Johns Hopkins patients who send messages through the Epic EHR patient portal can expect to be billed if the matter takes more than five minutes of a provider's time and is for a new medical issue or symptom requiring an assessment or referral, a medication adjustment, chronic condition check-in and management, or a flare-up or change in a chronic illness.
- Seattle-based UW Medicine said it plans to start charging for MyChart messages on June 27. Patients will be charged for new issues (medications, symptoms, chronic disease changes, referrals) or requests to fill out medical forms. Messages, which will be billed in 10-minute increments, will range in cost from $7 to $28 with Medicaid, $14 to $52 with Medicare and $27 to $98 for people with no insurance.
- Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health began charging for patient portal messages after receiving an influx of them in recent years. The health system said it has billed for less than 1 percent of its MyChart messages since the change went into effect in July, for an average charge of $10. The fees apply only to a new healthcare complaint or a problem that has not been discussed recently.
- Cleveland Clinic began billing patients for electronic messages through Epic's MyChart patient portal in November, but has said less than 1 percent of the 110,000 weekly emails its providers received have been billed. According to Cleveland Clinic, Medicaid patients are not charged and Medicare beneficiaries without a supplemental health plan would owe between $3 and $8. The system's maximum charge, affecting those with high deductibles on private insurance plans or without coverage, would be $33 to $50 for each exchange.