Why Patients Should Click Instead of Call in 2026: Make Your Patient Portal Work For You with OmniMD

In an era where digital banking, e-commerce, and telehealth have become second nature, there is still one question that puzzles healthcare leaders:

Why do patients continue to call their providers instead of using patient portals?

A recent JMIR analysis using HINTS data shows that over 61% of U.S. adults accessed a patient portal at least once, proving awareness is no longer the issue. Yet sustained, meaningful engagement remains surprisingly weak. Patients log in, check one result, then return to the phone for everything else.

Today, this disconnect matters more than ever. Practices face rising call volumes, staffing shortages, and higher administrative burden while patients expect seamless, emotionally intelligent digital experiences.

So why is the portal, one of healthcare’s most powerful tools, still underutilized?

Let’s explore the real reasons patients still pick up the phone, and how next generation platforms like OmniMD are reshaping digital care.

A Short History: From Static Portals to Intelligent Care Hubs

Patient portals didn’t start as the dynamic systems we know today.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, portals were essentially online bulletin boards:

• Delayed lab results
• One way information
• No messaging 
• No scheduling
• No personalization
• No connection to real-time care

The turning point came with the HITECH Act, a crucial component of the  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and later the 21st Century Cures Act, which pushed healthcare toward interoperability, patient access, and transparent data exchange.

Fast forward to 2026:
Portals now support clinical messaging, payments, health tracking, AI enabled triage, and deep EHR integration.

Yet despite this evolution… patients still call.
Why?

Top Reasons Patients Still Call Instead of Click

Based on recent behavioral data, patient interviews, and industry research, these are the most persistent, and often overlooked, barriers.

1. Portals Lack Human Reassurance

Patients don’t just want information, they want emotional context. A phone call conveys empathy, tone, pauses, and reassurance that no typical portal interface provides.

Patients ask themselves:
“Will someone understand how worried I am?”
“Should I hear this from a real human?”

2. Health Decisions Are Often Made as a Family

In many households, caregivers, spouses, children, siblings help manage appointments, medications, and follow-up care.
Most portals don’t support collaborative access, forcing families to call instead.

3. Billing and Insurance Questions Are Too Complex for Self-Service

Prior authorizations, deductibles, estimates, and coverage rules are filled with nuance. Patients call because:

• They want to confirm costs
• They fear surprise bills
• They don’t trust automated messages
  

Without crystal clear financial transparency, phones keep ringing.

4. Past Digital Mistakes Reduce Trust

One incorrect refill, delayed response, or lost message can push patients back to manual communication. Many associate portals with unintended errors.

5. Staff Burnout Creates Slow Digital Response Times

If messages pile up, patients wait longer. Waiting leads to uncertainty. Uncertainty leads to…phone calls.

6. Fear of “Clicking Something Wrong”

Older adults and less tech-confident users worry about:

• Canceling appointments accidentally
• Requesting the wrong medication
• Submitting the wrong form

Calling feels safer and better. 

7. Some Requests Simply Don’t Fit Dropdown Menus

Patients often need nuanced help:

“Tell my doctor to mention this during the referral.”
“I need additional paperwork for my employer.”
“I forgot to tell the nurse something important.”

Rigid portals can’t handle real-world complexity.

8. Fragmented Care Across Multiple Providers

Multiple specialists means multiple portals.
Patients call because they need someone to “connect the dots.”

9. Language and Cultural Comfort Barriers

Even fluent English speakers may feel more at ease communicating in their native language or with culturally familiar phrasing.

Portals rarely support these nuances well.

10. Anxiety About Viewing Sensitive Results Alone

A portal showing “abnormal result” without explanation can trigger panic.
Patients prefer a guided phone explanation for serious findings.

The Solution: Patient Portals Must Feel Human, Not Just Digital

The future of digital care is not just automation.
It’s emotionally aware, culturally attuned, intelligent engagement that mirrors human connection while delivering speed and convenience.

This is the design philosophy behind OmniMD’s Patient Portal.

How OmniMD’s Patient Portal Addresses These Barriers

OmniMD redefines portal experience with a blend of technology, empathy, and deep interoperability.

1. Empathy-Infused Digital Experience

• Video explainers for results
• Live nurse chat
• Friendly microcopy to reduce anxiety
  

2. Shared Caregiver Access

Secure, customizable access for spouses, adult children, or designated care partners.

3. Transparent Billing and Financial Navigation

• Real-time cost estimates
• Clear explanations in plain language
• Access to billing specialists

4. Intelligent AI Workflows

• AI Front Desk to reduce phone volume
• AI Scribe for real time documentation
• Smart message triage to reduce delays

5. Error Proof, Patient Friendly Design

• Undo features
• “Confirm before submit”  prompts
• Judgment free guidance

6. Multilingual, Culturally Aligned UX

Tailored content for diverse populations.

7. Unified Care View across Providers

Consolidated access and real-time syncing through deep EHR integration.

8. Sensitive Results “Review With Me” Mode

Patients can schedule an immediate call or video walkthrough before seeing critical results.

The Impact: Fewer Calls, Higher Trust, Better Care

Practices using OmniMD see:

• 30 to 45% reduction in inbound phone calls
• Faster clinical response times
• Higher patient portal utilization
• Greater family engagement
• Increased patient satisfaction scores

Digital access becomes a relationship “builder” not a “barrier”.

A Future Where Patients Click Before They Call

The next era of healthcare isn’t about forcing patients into digital tools—it’s about designing tools so intuitive, empathetic, and culturally aware that they simply prefer them.

OmniMD’s Patient Portal is built for exactly that future.

It’s not just a portal.
It’s a connected, intelligent, human experience that finally closes the gap between what patients need and what technology delivers.

Ready to transform your patient engagement strategy?

Contact OmniMD and experience the difference firsthand.