digital divide patient portal

Does the digital divide limit the potential of patient-facing health information technology?

 · July 29, 2021 - Having access to the internet solely through a smartphone internet plan, as opposed to wired broadband access, is linked to more limited patient portal access, underscoring a digital divide that is hampering equal access to patient engagement tools, according to research in JAMA Network Open.

Which patient groups use the inpatient portal less?

 · A digital divide in home internet access has the potential to severely limit the benefits of patient portals. The researchers found that elderly, underinsured, and minority patients were less likely to live in areas where most homes have broadband internet connections.

Do age and race disparities exist in the use of patient portal?

Online access to health records and the ability to exchange secure messages with physicians can improve patient engagement and outcomes; however, the digital divide could limit access to web-based portals among disadvantaged groups. Objectives:

What is digital divide in healthcare?

March 10, 2021 - As healthcare continues to lean on technological innovations, a new social determinant of health is coming to the forefront: the digital divide. The digital divide is the chasm between those who have access to technologies and the digital literacy to work them, and those who don't.

What is an electronic patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits. Discharge summaries.

Who runs Followmyhealth?

The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Springfield, Illinois. In March, 2013, Jardogs, LLC was acquired by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc ([1]).

How are health care patients affected by the digital divide?

These disparities persist in spite of, and are occasionally exacerbated by, new technologies that are intended to improve health care. This results in a "digital divide" in which populations that have poorer health outcomes continue to have poorer health outcomes despite technological improvements.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

About seven in 10 individuals cited their preference to speak with their health care provider directly as a reason for not using their patient portal within the past year. About one-quarter of individuals who did not view their patient portal within the past year reported concerns about privacy and security..

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

Even though they should improve communication, there are also disadvantages to patient portals....Table of ContentsGetting Patients to Opt-In.Security Concerns.User Confusion.Alienation and Health Disparities.Extra Work for the Provider.Conclusion.

How does the FollowMyHealth app work?

FollowMyHealth is an online tool that gives you anywhere, anytime access to your personal health records. This allows you to take a proactive role in managing your care. Many healthcare providers and physicians use FollowMyHealth as their main engagement platform.

How do you use FollowMyHealth?

FollowMyHealth makes it easy to do just that. Log in via your desktop or download our mobile app in the App Store or Google Play Store. You can also create an account when your doctor texts you a link to your care summary.

How do I delete my FollowMyHealth account?

To delete your account, click “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner of your FollowMyHealth homepage. Then, click on “Preferences.” Then, click “Delete your UHR” under “Account Preferences.” The system will prompt you to confirm once more. If you so choose, click “Yes,” and your account will no longer be active.

Why we should care about the digital divide?

The divide has economic costs overall. Access to reliable internet is also a strong predictor of economic opportunity. According to a Deloitte study, a 10% increase in broadband access in 2014 would have resulted in more than 875,000 additional U.S. jobs and $186 billion more in economic output in 2019.

How does access to technology affect health?

We conclude that health information technology improves patient's safety by reducing medication errors, reducing adverse drug reactions, and improving compliance to practice guidelines. There should be no doubt that health information technology is an important tool for improving healthcare quality and safety.

What are digital determinants of health?

1: Digital literacies and social determinants of health. Digital literacy and access, including skills, connectivity, devices and training and technical support, relate to all other domains of social determinants of health.

Why is it important to have a patient portal?

As the availability and use of patient portals increase, it is important to understand which patients have limited access and the barriers they may face. Improving internet access and making portals available across multiple platforms, including mobile, may reduce some disparities in secure message use.

What is a cross sectional survey?

Cross-sectional survey to examine the association between patient sociodemographic characteristics and internet access and care preferences; then, the association between sociodemographic characteristics and secure message use with and without adjusting for internet access and care preference.

How do portals help the digital divide?

Researchers have suggested that portals available to patients in the hospital may help to close the digital divide in minority populations.11–13Referred to as inpatient portals, this type of portal enables a hospitalized patient to connect to the EHR of the facility where they are admitted, providing access to their health information during their inpatient stay.14While similar to patient portals offered by ambulatory providers, inpatient portals differ in two critical ways as follows: access to an inpatient portal is commonly provided on devices supplied by the hospital, and this connection takes place on the hospital's internet network. As a result, inpatient portal use is independent of contextual barriers that have been noted in the literature as contributing to the digital divide, such as access to the internet.4Inpatient portals may thus serve as an entry point to the growing number of electronic and mobile resources available to patients to help them manage their health.15

What is the digital divide?

Background:Age and race disparities in the use of new technologies—the digital divide—may be limiting the potential of patient-facing health information technology to improve health and health care.

What services can you send to a patient?

Send request for patient services, including patient education, physical therapy, pastoral care, social work, pharmacy, or the gift shop

What is my chart bedside?

MyChart Bedside is a password-protected application offered through an Android tablet provided to hospitalized patients. MyChart Bedside was designed by Epic Systems and provides patients with access to information from the EHR, grouped into 12 features (see Table 1for a description of the features offered and their functions).

What is the digital divide in healthcare?

The digital divide is the chasm between those who have access to technologies and the digital literacy to work them, and those who don’t. In healthcare, the digital divide can lead ...

What is the digital divide?

The digital divide exists outside of telehealth and racial health disparities. Poor broadband, which refers to the infrastructure that supports any digital health tool, acutely impacts individuals living in rural areas.

How did the digital divide affect health?

Separate data suggested that this digital divide, like other social determinants of health, had an impact on patient health and wellness. An Urban Institute report showed telehealth care access disparities falling along racial lines. Those disparities coincided with high rates of unmet medical needs among those already in poor health and those with public health insurance coverage.

Why is telehealth important?

Telehealth proved an essential way to maintain chronic disease management for high-risk patients. But that adoption was not equal across different populations. Much like coronavirus case counts, there were stark racial health disparities in pandemic-era telehealth use and adoption.

Why are older black people using telehealth?

Older Black and Hispanic patients used telehealth at significantly lower rates than their White and Asian counterparts, and social determinants of health and structural inequity are likely the culprits. For example, language barriers strongly dissuaded patients from accessing telehealth, the researchers said.

Can Nemours address digital health literacy?

At this early stage, most organizations, like Nemours, can only begin to address digital health literacy, which is no easy feat. Clinicians are already overburdened with integrating virtual care access themselves, making it far too onerous to ask them to walk their patients through a telehealth visit or engaging with the patient portal.

Is the digital divide nuanced?

In more recent years, healthcare experts have learned that the digital divide is more nuanced than that. Some older adults may be excited to utilize telehealth, while a younger, potentially low-income, patient might not have the infrastructure to support it. Population health leaders are starting to look into the digital divide ...