patient portal adoption rates

by Marcelina Stracke Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 9 min read

Patient Portal Adoption Rates: A Systematic Literature …

10 hours ago Our meta-analysis showed an overall mean adoption rate of 52% (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 42 to 62%). Rates differed markedly between study types: controlled experiments yielded a mean adoption rate of 71% (95% CI 64 to 79%), compared to 23% (95% CI, 13 to 33%) in … >> Go To The Portal

Over 90% of healthcare facilities have a patient portal. However, it has been found that fewer than 25% of patients have actually adopted the patient portal. For outpatient rehab therapy practices, that percentage is thought to be even lower. If your practice is having trouble getting your patients to use your portal, you are not alone.

Although most accounts find that patient portal adoption lingers at 90 percent, the Government Accountability Office revealed that patient portal use rates are at less than one-third of patients.Jul 31, 2018

Full Answer

What is the adoption rate of adoption in clinical trials?

Our meta-analysis showed an overall mean adoption rate of 52% (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 42 to 62%). Rates differed markedly between study types: controlled experiments yielded a mean adoption rate of 71% (95% CI 64 to 79%), compared to 23% (95% CI, 13 to 33%) in real-world experiments.

Are online patient portals being used by patients?

Despite the increasing availability of online patient portals that provide access to electronic health records, little is known about their adoption by patients. We systematically reviewed the literature to investigate adoption of patient portals across studies. We searched MEDLINE and Scopus to identify relevant papers.

How many studies have been conducted to evaluate adoption of systems?

We included 40 studies: 24 were controlled experiments, with prospective data collection in an actively recruited population; 16 were real-world experiments, with adoption being evaluated retrospectively after system deployment in clinical practice.

What percentage of patients use patient portals?

Nearly 40 percent of individuals nationwide accessed a patient portal in 2020 – this represents a 13 percentage point increase since 2014.Sep 21, 2021

How effective are patient portals?

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 top barriers to patient portal adoption use?

These barriers included lack of eHealth literacy. This can be due to the diversity of the patient population because it will include immigrants, older patients, and people with limited literacy skills. These specific groups may experience difficulty using a portal.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

This is due to a lack of internet access. According to the AMA, 25% of people don't use a patient portal because they don't have internet access. Over one in six people in poverty don't have internet access.Nov 11, 2021

What should be in a patient portal?

A robust patient portal should include the following features:

Clinical summaries.
Secure (HIPAA-compliant) messaging.
Online bill pay.
New patient registration.
Ability to update demographic information.
Prescription renewals and contact lens ordering.
Appointment requests.
Appointment reminders.

More items...

What safeguards are included in patient portals?

Patient portals have privacy and security safeguards in place to protect your health information. To make sure that your private health information is safe from unauthorized access, patient portals are hosted on a secure connection and accessed via an encrypted, password-protected logon.

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the Top Pros and Cons of Adopting Patient Portals?

Pro: Better communication with chronically ill patients.
Con: Healthcare data security concerns.
Pro: More complete and accurate patient information.
Con: Difficult patient buy-in.
Pro: Increased patient ownership of their own care.

Feb 17, 2016

What is the nurse's role in implementation of patient portals in healthcare?

Nurses encourage patients to enroll in the portals, wear buttons to welcome questions from patients and their families, explain the portal's privacy and security features, and demonstrate how to look up test results, send and receive provider messages, and request prescription refills.Dec 20, 2021

What are the factors affecting patients use of personal health records?

Four of those factors positively affect subjectively-measured use: education, income, internet access, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and awareness of ePHRs.

What is a reason for providers to be reluctant to use a patient portal?

The reason why most patients do not want to use their patient portal is because they see no value in it, they are just not interested. The portals do not properly incentivize the patient either intellectually (providing enough data to prove useful) or financially.

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

Are patient portals easy to use?

Portals provide physicians with a fast and easy way to communicate with chronically ill patients. They are a place to get complete and more accurate patient information. Portals empower patients to take ownership of their own healthcare, so they remain aware of the entire care process.Nov 11, 2021

Patient Portals: Background

Patient portals are enabled by electronic health records (EHRs) and were given a boost in the early days by meaningful use (MU) requirements that helped healthcare providers qualify for EHR incentive programs.

Patient Portals: Benefits

Research indicates that patient portals offer a variety of benefits, including the ability to spot medical errors in a patient’s record, improve medication adherence, and enhance patient-provider communications.

Patient Portals: Factors Influencing Adoption

Some of the research related to patient portal adoption also underscores the importance of portal design. For instance, one study, “Patient Portals Facilitating Engagement With Inpatient Electronic Medical Records: A Systematic Review” noted that “Many articles showed that good portal design is crucial for usability and adoption by patients.”

Patient Portals: Tips to Increase Adoption

As evidenced in some of the research included here, there are certain things you can do to help increase patient portal adoption rates. Here are five tips for your breast center to consider:

six strategies to improve your patient portal adoption rates

Engage New Patients - Include a patient portal brochure or letter in new patient registration materials.

Patient Portal Adoption Kit

POS has created a patient portal adoption kit that can be customized to your practice. The package includes portal brochures with ID cards, statement inserts and office signage. The two pieces of office signage are produced on repositionable stock (peel and stick) for easy application to any surface.

Conduct patient outreach, education

Fundamental to getting patients to register for the patient portal is telling them about it. Discussing patient portal signup during an in-person or virtual healthcare visit is a key step to improving sign-up rates.

Considering hard-to-reach populations

For some populations, patient portal outreach may require variable approaches. Some patients may benefit from their clinician walking them through the sign-up process, while others may need instructions in a language that is not English.

Using the patient portal in public health efforts

It is undeniable that the patient portal has seen a critical use case in the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, healthcare organizations leveraged the tool to give patients some information about the virus and how they can keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

What is a Patient Portal?

A patient portal is a web-based tool that allows practices to connect and communicate with their clients online. Using a patient portal designed specifically for mental health, clients can typically do the following:

Benefits of Driving Patient Portal Adoption

Behavioral health practices that have high client adoption rates of their patient portal report significant increases in office staff and clinician efficiency, medical record accuracy, and client satisfaction. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits you can expect if you are successful at driving patient portal adoption for your practice.

How to Improve Patient Portal Adoption for Your Practice

If you acknowledge the value of offering your clients a patient portal, congratulations! You are well on your way to recognizing the efficiency and client satisfaction benefits we outlined above.

Communication

Communication is how your practice makes your patients aware that you even have a portal. This becomes the responsibility of all the staff within your practice. Starting with the front office who will most likely come into contact with the patient first. Mentioning the portal should be within their standard script.

Education

Education is making sure the patient understands the purpose of the portal and how to use the portal. Education and information regarding your patient portal should be given to each patient during the first initial contact made between the patient and your practice.

Promotion

You have now communicated to your patients that your practice has a portal. You have educated your patients how to use the portal. The last step is to promote your portal. Sometimes the best way to get someone to do what you would like them to do is to offer incentives.

patient portal adoption rates