Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health saw MyChart messages increase 10 percent faster than the volume of patient visits, which prompted the health system to enact changes to cut down on the incoming volume.
The health system implemented four changes to MyChart messages:
- Alerting patients that messages would be sent to the office of their provider, not the provider directly, and letting patients know their message was received and that it would be answered in three business days.
- Giving providers 180 minutes to notify patients of new lab results instead of 60 minutes.
- Filtering out "thank you" messages to free up a provider's inbox.
- Making changes to the user interface by linking medication refill requests directly to the medication page.
According to U of Utah Health, these initiatives have flattened the number of MyChart messages, where messages are growing slower than the rate of patient visits, according to a Sept. 6 news release from the health system.