1.  Online access to medical records and test results
 
If my credit card, bank statement and the like are accessible through secure portals on the web, why can’t my test results?

According to Deloitte’s 2008 Survey of Healthcare, 60 percent of patients want physicians to provide online access to medical records and test results.

2.  Email access to my doctor

Do not make me slog through your phone tree so that I can ask a simple question. Let me fire it off in an email so that I can get on with my life.

To comply with HIPAA, have me sign a waiver allowing communication via regular email.

A study published in The Journal of Internet Medical Research states that  “Although more than 100 million Americans now use the Internet (and many access health information), few doctors communicate with their patients through e-mail. Despite its potential to improve both the quality and efficiency of health services delivery, the use of e-mail communication has not been widely adopted by many clinicians.”

3.  Online scheduling of appointments
 
I can research availability of a 2 night stay at my favorite hotel – why can’t I do this for my doctor? 
According to the Deloitte study, 1 in 4 patients say they would pay more for the service.

4.  Online Pre-registration for doctor and hospital visits
 
Please don’t make me arrive 20 minutes prior to my appointment so that I can fill out forms by hand that a desk clerk must then type into your EMR. Let me do the work for you. (there is very little chance that I will misspell my own name or transpose the digits of my phone number)

5.  Price information offered by doctors, healthplans and hospitals
 
How much for a strep test, ACL reconstruction or routine office visit?
Give me a pricelist – like this one  from one of the largest physician groups in California.