Is your patient portal doing everything it should?

A decade ago, patient portals were optional “nice-to-haves,” bolted onto electronic health records so practices could satisfy Meaningful Use tick boxes. Today, they’re the front door, the hallway and the help desk rolled into one. Whether patients want to confirm tomorrow’s appointment while waiting in the school pickup line, glance at last week’s hemoglobin A_1c result at midnight or settle a bill before their flexible spending account balance expires, they reach for the portal first, often on a phone the size of a stethoscope. Regulators are watching, too. Federal information-blocking rules now require near-real-time release of clinical notes, and commercial payers tie quality bonuses to documented patient engagement metrics.

Still, many portals feel frozen in amber: clunky log-ins, hidden lab tabs, payment screens that sputter on mobile. If your digital foyer leaves patients pounding on the glass, it’s time for a remodel. These eight features represent the current gold standard, capabilities that savvy practices consider table stakes in 2025, and each one links to deeper dives so you can benchmark your own system before the next contract renewal lands on your desk.