FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why use a Patient Portal to communicate with your MIU physician?
Patient Portal communication has a number of advantages over other types of communication. It is fast, convenient, and efficient. It also works well for many of the questions, requests, or messages you may have for our practice, such as prescription refill requests, appointment scheduling and non-urgent medical questions.
This guide will help answer some of your questions about this new service. If you still have questions after reading this, please talk with your physician or any of our team members. Once you have read through and agree with the following guidelines and would like to use secure messaging, please ask one of our team members to sign you up. Once you provide your email address and verbal authorization, a team member will send the Patient Portal Welcome email to you. Your Patient Portal Welcome Letter will contain your temporary password to access the Patient Portal.
What types of communication are appropriate for the Patient Portal?
Types of requests or messages are appropriate for secure e-mail:
• Prescription refill requests
• Appointment scheduling request
• Non-urgent medical advice request
• Non-urgent medical follow-up (including some types of test results)
• Non-urgent medical correspondence
What should I know about Patient Portal communication?
The most important thing you should know is we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of exchanges. While the security of e-mail is comparable to other types of communication (such as phone calls), there are some special issues with e-mail.
• If your e-mail address is through your employer, your employer may own all e-mails sent to that address.
• If your e-mail is a family address, other family members may see your messages.
• If you use an internet service provider, there is a small risk that messages may be intercepted by others
You should also know that Patient Portal messages you send to your physician may be read by designated staff in our practice. Like phone calls, Patient Portal messages may be screened by office staff before being routed to the appropriate person for a response. Copies of your Patient Portal messages may be placed in your medical record.
While many subjects are appropriate for e-mail communication, it is ultimately a decision between you and your clinician.
Subjects that are NEVER appropriate for e-mail:
• Any urgent medical problem or emergency, Mental health issues, Drug and alcohol problems
• HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and Work-related injuries and disability
Please keep in mind that although secure e-mail can be a very effective tool, it is not a substitute for a physical exam by your physician. Please call the office if you feel you need to see your physician.
How are messages delivered through the Patient Portal?
When something new is added to your Patient Portal, you will receive an email that simply tells you that you have updates waiting for you in the portal. The reminder emails will always include a link to the Patient Portal for quick access. The email message will not contain any confidential information, and the new message to your Patient Portal can only be accessed by using your designated email address and password.
How long will it take before I receive a Patient Portal response?
Every effort will be made to respond to our Patient Portal question or message by the next business day. You should not expect to receive a response on weekends or holidays or any other time the office may be closed.
Complete the following steps to connect with us online:
1. Provide MIU with your personal email address. We will provide you with a Patient Portal Welcome Letter that will be sent to the provided email. This letter will contain your temporary password to access the Patient Portal. While in the office, you can also request a print out of the email that will be sent. You will have approximately 5 days to log into the patient portal with your temporary password. After 5 days, the temporary password will expire and you will need to request a new temporary password.
2. Access the Patient Portal page by either copying or pasting this URL that is included in the email that will be sent to you, or you might be able to actually click on the link within the email.
• Visit https://patientportal-uc1.intrinsiq.com/v2.3.0/Practices/500287/Patient/login — This is the URL that will be provided to you in the Email.
• Enter your email address and the temporary password that is included in your welcome letter email. Click the box with the word “Login” to process your request.
3. Create a new password. Choose a password that is easy for you to remember, and follow the password rules to make your password more secure.
4. Select two security questions, and provide answers for the security questions.
5. Agree to Patient Portal Terms and Conditions Statement
6. You are now ready to access the Patient Portal.
What browsers are supported by the MIU Patient Portal?
• Internet Explorer 9 or higher
• Chrome 2.0.172 or higher
• Firefox 4 or higher
If you require further assistance with your patient portal, please contact your MIU office for assistance at 586-771-4820.
