Why do doctors have Patient Portals if they don't use or update them?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I wanted to send a message to my ophthalmologist and used his PP. I was amazed that my records there have not been updated since September 2023 as they have that date for my last visit. I was there this past March and several time in between that. Same thing for my retina surgeon. I ended up calling the office and I mentioned their PP. The person I spoke with said, "We really don't use that anymore. If you have a question, call the office directly."

I find PP handy as I can take my time to compose my thoughts in a written message instead of babbling and stammering on the phone.
 
many of these while great in theory are not easy to keep up with. if staff does not monitor it and update it is no longer useful for them.
I too noticed many places do not even bother to check if someone put a message in it.
 
My Patient Portal is very active, though they changed to a different portal recently and the new portal doesn’t support the importing of prior portal records. SoI don’t get to see my 20 years worth of records on my old portal! 🤦‍♀️

All the doctors Ron is seeing aren’t on the same Portal, so he now has 3 different ones! He’s not tech savvy, so I’ve been keeping up with them, and they’re very handy for communication between the doctors and him (me)
 
debodun said:
I wanted to send a message to my ophthalmologist and used his PP. I was amazed that my records there have not been updated since September 2023 as they have that date for my last visit. I was there this past March and several time in between that. Same thing for my retina surgeon. I ended up calling the office and I mentioned their PP. The person I spoke with said, "We really don't use that anymore. If you have a question, call the office directly."

I find PP handy as I can take my time to compose my thoughts in a written message instead of babbling and stammering on the phone.
Click to expand...
Our portal with or records are updated regularly.... but what is more frustrating about our is that..they never update the appointments..so they want us to use a triage sytem and book all our appointments online.. but .. there's a drop down menu with dates for this month and next month... but every time... it says there are no appointments available during these times... Crazy!
 
I use the patient portal and they interact through it, or I can call and speak with staff directly. Either way works. What I don't like is when I get a text at 6 AM reminding me of an appointment that day.

debodun said:
I find PP handy as I can take my time to compose my thoughts in a written message instead of babbling and stammering on the phone.
Click to expand...
I understand that, but I prepare in advance for any professional or business call and have notes in front of me.
 
debodun said:
The person I spoke with said, "We really don't use that anymore. If you have a question, call the office directly."
Click to expand...
How disappointing, I find patient portals very helpful. I wonder how they access the information to answer questions when a patient calls, wouldn't it be on their computer, how hard could it be to have it also appear in a patient portal. I'd worry that they don't have enough staff to avoid making mistakes.
 
Yes but it's for Windows 7 Deb.

Official versions of Google Chrome for Windows 7 cannot fully handle modern websites designed for Windows 11 because they no longer receive updates to support the latest web technologies.

While an older version of Chrome may still load some pages, you will face significant barriers:
  • End of Support: Official support for Chrome on Windows 7 ended in February 2023 with version 109. Versions 110 and later require at least Windows 10.

  • Web Standard Issues: Modern sites often use the latest TLS/SSL certificates and web APIs. Over time, outdated browsers like Chrome 109 will fail to load these sites correctly, leading to broken layouts, missing images, or "connection not private" errors.

  • Security Risks: Using an unsupported browser on an unsupported OS like Windows 7 is dangerous for sensitive tasks like banking or shopping, as neither gets critical security patches.
    Reddit +5

Better Alternatives for Windows 7
If you must stay on Windows 7, consider these browsers that offer better modern compatibility:
  • Supermium: A specialized, community-maintained browser based on recent Chromium versions (e.g., version 140 as of late 2025) that is explicitly designed to bring modern web features and security to Windows 7.

  • Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release): Provides a more stable long-term option than standard Chrome, though even this support is limited and may encounter issues with specific services like Gmail or Outlook over time.
Long-term recommendation: To ensure all current websites work correctly and safely, you should upgrade your hardware to support Windows 11 or at least move to Windows 10 while it still has limited extended support.
 
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