Warren General Hospital, along with Warren Medical Group, has announced the debut of their new patient portal, MyPortal, saying it is a free, secure, convenient Web portal designed to open the lines of communication between patients and their health care providers.

MyPortal offers patients a centralized location for their health information online, including their medical records and lab results. The portal also features medication lists and appointment reminders.

“We are thrilled to offer this new tool to our patients,” said John Papalia, CEO of Warren General. “MyPortal makes it possible to place our patients at the very center of their care by enabling them to be better informed about their own health.”

Warren General Hospital stressed that MyPortal is not intended as a substitute for patient/provider interaction.

“On the contrary,” said Dr. Douglas Megill, CIO. “The portal aims to enhance the communication between our patients and their care team by fostering a more collaborative environment.”

Warren General said the portal was designed with ease-of-use as a top priority, adding that studies show that while the vast majority of patients are interested in using portals, they also harbor fears that the tools will be feature poor and unfriendly to users. Warren General said it chose to implement a robust portal with the most popular feature set, including customized educational resources for each patient, depending on their individual health concerns or managed conditions.

“As we keep pace with emerging e-health technologies,” said Dr. Megill, “we also improve our quality of care. And an informed, connected patient is a healthier patient.”

To register for MyPortal, persons can sign up at outpatient registration during their registration process, or they can go to the Medical Records Department at the hospital. A photo ID for patient verification is needed to register for MyPortal.

For more information, call 723-3300 ext 1400.