barriers affecting patient portal use

by Prof. Carter Kunze I 7 min read

Barriers and Facilitators Affecting Patient Portal ...

1 hours ago 7 rows · May 11, 2018 · Only barriers were anticipated for patients (common to all stakeholder groups), especially ... >> Go To The Portal


Data obtained from the 19 respondents who responded to the questions and the five interviewees revealed that the major barrier to patient portal access is the lack of computer or phone skills. At the same time, proxy access problems were identified as another challenge. Keywords: Effectiveness; Electronic Health Record; Patient Portals

What Are the Top Barriers to Patient Portal Adoption, Use?
  • Patients see limited use for patient portal.
  • The interface is not usable.
  • Patients have low health literacy.
  • Providers do not promote patient portals.
May 15, 2018

Full Answer

What are the barriers to patient portal implementation?

7 rows · May 11, 2018 · Only barriers were anticipated for patients (common to all stakeholder groups), especially ...

Why don’t more patients use patient portals?

Nov 23, 2018 · Data obtained from the 19 respondents who responded to the questions and the five interviewees revealed that the major barrier to patient portal access is the lack of computer or phone skills. At the same time, proxy access problems were identified as another challenge. Keywords: Effectiveness; Electronic Health Record; Patient Portals

What are some examples of barriers and facilitators in patient education?

Nov 01, 2020 · The dearth of national studies on disparities in patient access and use of PPs exclude patients, an important stakeholder in PPs adoption and impact. 24 Furthermore, inequitable access to and use of PPs raise concerns for their potential to exacerbate health disparities. 2 For example, Lin et al 25 showed that of 95% of patients who had access to their …

How can providers improve patient engagement with patient portals?

Nov 23, 2018 · 81.8% of the participants stated that lack of computers or phone skills is the major barrier to the use of the MyChart portal by patients while 4.5% of the participants were of the idea that difficulty in spelling was the major barrier. The data on (Table 14) is presented in the (Figure 13)below in a graphical way.

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What are the challenges of patient portals?

Other disadvantages of patient portals include alienation and health disparities. Alienation between patient and provider occurs for those who don't access these tools. Sometimes, this is due to health disparities if a person doesn't have a method for using them.Nov 11, 2021

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

The most frequently reported downside to patient portals is the difficulty providers often face in generating patient buy-in. Although providers are generally aware of the health perks of using a patient portal, patients are seldom as excited about the portal as they are.Feb 17, 2016

Why do patients not use patient portals?

The researchers found no demographic differences among nonusers who said that a technology hurdle, lack of internet access or no online medical record was the reason why they did not make use of a patient portal.May 14, 2019

What are some key barriers to accessing health care?

Top Challenges Impacting Patient Access to HealthcareLimited appointment availability, office hours.Geographic, clinician shortage issues.Transportation barriers.Limited education about care sites.Social determinants of health barriers.Feb 22, 2022

What are the disadvantages of accessing your health care online?

Con: Online Health Research Can Lead to Unnecessary Anxiety Your increased anxiety might worsen your pain and other symptoms. It's easy to assume the worst when you check your symptoms online, but don't panic if your symptoms align with a serious condition. Instead, seek appropriate medical care.Dec 5, 2017

Are patient portals effective?

Patient portal interventions were overall effective in improving a few psychological outcomes, medication adherence, and preventive service use. There was insufficient evidence to support the use of patient portals to improve clinical outcomes.

What are the pros and cons of patient portals?

The Pros And Cons Of Using Patient Portals For HealthcarePro 1: 24-Hour Connection With Providers.Con 1: Lack of Use.Pro 2: Streamlines Workflow.Con 2: Patient Portals are Targets for Hackers.Pro 3: Ownership of Medical Data.Con 3: Patients May Become Confused Through Greater Access to Records.

Do patients like patient portals?

Eight studies reported that patients or their caregivers want more portal education, training, or support. Two studies found that their participants want human connection as they learn about the portal and how to use it, as well as when they encounter issues.Jan 25, 2021

Do patient portals improve healthcare?

Background. Engaging patients in the delivery of health care has the potential to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.

What are the 4 barriers to accessing health services?

The study shows that lack of transport, availability of services, inadequate drugs or equipment, and costs, are the four major barriers for access.May 20, 2015

What are the 7 barriers in health and social care?

Barriers in Health and Social Care: The barriers in health and social care are physical barriers, psychological barriers, financial barriers, geographical barriers, cultural/language barriers and resource barriers.

What are access barriers?

Barriers to access are conditions or obstacles that prevent individuals with disabilities from using or accessing knowledge and resources as effectively as individuals without disabilities.

Abstract

Background: Patient access to their medical records through patient portals (PPs) facilitates information exchange and provision of quality health care. Understanding factors that characterize patients with limited access to and use of PPs is needed.

Introduction

Patient engagement is a top priority for US health care systems. 1 The adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is a system-level strategy to involve patients in their health care and increase their ability to make informed decisions.

Methods

Data were from the 2017−2018 Health Information National Trends Survey 5, cycles 1 (H5C1) and 2 (H5C2). H5C1 and H5C2 were nationally representative, self-administered, mail surveys of US adults ≥ 18 years that evaluated public perceptions and use of PPs.

Measures

Access to PPs was assessed with, “Do any of your doctors/health care providers maintain your medical records in a computerized system?” and “Have you ever been offered online access to your medical records by your health care provider?” [1 = yes, 0 = no/do not know].

Analyses

Weighted missing percentage for demographic characteristics was highest for income (9.7%) and race/ethnicity (8%). Missingness on all other variables, including outcome variables, was < 4%. Little’s test showed that missingness on variables collected at both waves was not completely at random (χ 2 = 16505.72; df = 14235; P < .001).

Associations between Patient Characteristics and PPs Access and Use

Roughly 3 quarters of participants (76.9%) reported their provider maintained electronic medical records but only 47.2% reported being offered access to them, 39.2% reported their provider encouraged their use, 27.2% were confident electronic medical records were safe, and 29.3% and 9.3% reported accessing their own or their families’ medical records in the past year..

Associations between Patient Characteristics and Use of PP Functionalities

Knowledge of PP functions varied, with laboratory test results (91.5%) being the most known function and clinical notes (50.6%) being the least ( Figure 1 ). Use of PP functions varied, with viewing test results (84.3%) being the most used function and requesting corrections (7.1%) being the least.

What are the benefits of patient portal?

Patient portal benefits are numerous – they provide patients access to their health data, allow patients to securely message their providers, and in many cases allow patients to complete administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments and paying bills. Providers have recognized those benefits and nearly universally offer access to ...

Why is patient health literacy important?

Patient health literacy is an integral key to improving patient portal adoption. Just as patients want to see the features they value in way that is navigable, they also want to understand that information. If a patient has low health literacy, they are unlikely to find patient portal data useful.

Why is NLP important?

NLP helps to translate certain clinical terms in the patient portal to make them more understandable for patients. Providers must also do their jobs to improve patient health literacy.

What is a patient portal?

Patient portals often are designed in concert with other health care system functions such as scheduling appointments and communicating securely with providers . According to Walker, Sieck, Menser and colleagues , offering a variety of functions is a central component of patient engagement, particularly for patients attempting to self-manage chronic conditions.

Why don't older adults use portals?

In a 2018 national survey, older adults (50-80 years) commonly cited the following reasons for not setting up a patient portal: 1 Did not like communicating about their health by computer (40%) 2 Did not have a need for a portal (38%) 3 Did not know they needed to set something up (33%) 4 Had not gotten around to setting up a portal (29%) 5 Did not feel comfortable with technology (26%)

Who is Colene Byrne?

Presently she works as a senior analyst and Clinical lead at RTI International in the Quality Measurement and Health Policy Program. She has expertise in patient/resident assessment-based and electronic health record (EHR)-based quality measures. She recently led the development of a measure of the transfer of health information for 4 post acute care settings, through a multi-year measure development process. The measure concept is the transfer of a medication list, and will be implemented in 2020. Through this work, and as a high user of her patient portal, Colene developed a keen interest in the adoption and use of patient-facing tools such as patient portals.

Can cybercriminals access health records?

Given the frequent news stories of cyber-criminals breaking into the computer networks of retail chains, government databases, and even health care organizations, it's no wonder that some patients are less than willing to access their health records or discuss sensitive matters online.

Can a physician be reimbursed for using a portal?

There's no way around it: Other than receiving meaningful use incentive payments (and avoiding penalties), physicians typically won't get directly reimbursed for using a portal. In fact, some physicians fear that successfully answering patient questions through secure messaging might create additional appointment capacity that the practice would need to fill to avoid declining revenue.

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