patient portal use statistics

Patient uses for portals included viewing lab results (35%), requesting medication refills (19%), requesting appointments (22%), secure messaging (19%) and other (5%). Among portal users, 53% were very satisfied and 38% were satisfied with their experiences.

Full Answer

How many patients have access to patient portal tools?

Sep 21, 2021 · Patient portal users who access their health information using multiple methods access their portal more frequently than those who use only one method. FINDINGS ★ Among patient portal users who accessed their portal 6 or more times in 2020, 45 percent used both a computer and a smartphone health app compared to 22 percent who used only a computer …

Do patients use online patient portals to access electronic health records?

Apr 16, 2018 · Overwhelmingly, patients use the portal to view their lab results (85 percent). Sixty-two percent of patients are also using the tool for more clinical tasks, such as scheduling appointments, completing paperwork, and refilling prescriptions. Only 14 percent of patients are using the portal to transmit medical records to another provider, despite federal calls for …

What is a patient portal in healthcare?

Feb 25, 2021 · Currently, measurement of patient portal use varies widely, with inconsistent conceptual definitions serving as a consistent limitation to robust analysis . Understanding how patient portal use has been defined and operationalized, both previously and currently, will encourage consistent and well-defined utilization of patient portals.

What is the relationship between patient portal utilization and health outcomes?

The analysis found that patient portal use increased modestly, from 25.6% in 2014 to 31.4% in 2018. However, despite the observed increase, patient portal use in the general population remained low and notable disparities persisted.

What percentage of patients use patient portals?

FINDINGS. 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?

Better Patient-Physician Relationships Patient portals provide the ability for patients to have 24-hour access to connect with their provider by reviewing patient health information (PHI), asking and answering questions, and reviewing notes, making the patient-physician relationship closer than ever.Dec 8, 2017

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

Why do patients not use patient portals?

For some people, they avoid using the portals altogether for reasons like security issues, low health literacy, or lack of internet. Even for those who do access their accounts, there are still other disadvantages of patient portals.Nov 11, 2021

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

Patient portals satisfy meaningful use standards Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities. Increase patient engagement. Improve care coordination. Expand population and public health.Jul 15, 2019

Are patient portals easy to use?

Patient portals streamline the workflow of practice and help it share each patient's medical records with each of them. But, then it has some ethical issues that need to be considered before running one in your practice. Portals make it easy for practices to allow all their patients access to their medical records.Nov 11, 2021

How do patients feel about patient portals?

Some patients recognize the role of patient portals in their health care, reporting satisfaction with the ability to communicate with their health care teams and perform tasks such as requesting prescription refills conveniently [3,16].

What is a disadvantage of patient portal?

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

Do patient portals improve healthcare?

For example, portals allow patients to view test results, schedule appointments, request prescription refills, and exchange secure messages with providers. Patient portals can increase patient engagement, with the potential to generate positive health outcomes.Sep 6, 2018

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.

What are patient portals used for?

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.Sep 29, 2017

When did healthcare start using patient portals?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the earliest adopters of patient portals began offering electronic tools for patient-centered communication, often “tethered” to their integrated electronic health record system.Apr 7, 2016

What is a patient portal?

As per the scope of the report, the patient portal is a web-based access point that is connected with the electronic health records (EHR) systems and is focused on patient’s access to health records. The patients can share their health information and communicate remotely. These allow patients to look into various data points. Some portals allow patients to check medical history data and view demographics.

Which country has the largest patient portal market?

North America has been the largest patient portal market due to wide technological advancements in the region. Countries, such as the United States and Canada, have been successful in implementing IT technologies in their healthcare systems, which as a result, may boost the market growth.

What are the technologies that are used in healthcare?

Healthcare technology, genomics, connected devices, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence are generating vast amounts of health data and insights, which are enabling healthcare providers to make better and faster diagnoses and more informed treatment decisions.

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.