14 hours ago Introduction: This study assessed whether patient portals influence patients' ability for self-management, improve their perception of health state, improve their experience with primary care practices, and reduce healthcare utilization. Methods: Patients participating in a nurse-led care coordination program received personalized training to use the portal to communicate with the … >> Go To The Portal
Introduction: This study assessed whether patient portals influence patients' ability for self-management, improve their perception of health state, improve their experience with primary care practices, and reduce healthcare utilization. Methods: Patients participating in a nurse-led care coordination program received personalized training to use the portal to communicate with the …
Jun 23, 2015 · Four studies [64,85,88,91] identified conceptual knowledge, numeracy, and computer skills as particularly important literacy factors that contributed to successful patient engagement via a patient portal. Noblin et al found that 65% of participants who intended to adopt the outpatient clinic’s patient portal had a higher eHealth literacy ...
Results: During 2010-2017, the patient portal at Mayo Clinic, Rochester experienced a significant growth in terms of the count of patient users and the total number of secure messages sent by ...
Background: Patient portals are an effective way of engaging patients to become active participants in their health; however, getting patients to actively use portals in the outpatient setting is challenging.
Powered by the HIMSS Foundation and the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Community, the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics is a free, international, peer reviewed publication that is published three times a year and supports all functional areas of nursing informatics.
An important area of discussion is the use of patient portals or web portals and its relation to patient engagement. The term “patient engagement” is commonly used but often poorly understood in healthcare. Therefore, for this discussion, patient engagement is defined as the patient’s capability and willingness to actively decide to participate in their healthcare and collaborate with a healthcare facility or provider for the goal of improvement in care or positive outcomes (Higgins et al., 2017). Providers can promote patient engagement through health information technology (HIT) by using practical and appealing designs to maximize patient involvement (Higgins et al., 2017; Schnall et al., 2016).
Framework. A Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) model was used as the framework for this study due to its allowance for continuous improvement and flexibility, including promotion of project sustainability (Donnelly & Kirk, 2015).
The PHE-5 scale is a Likert scale that helps to measure patient engagement Graffigna et al., 2017). It consists of five ordinal items that ask participants how they feel when they think about their disease. The PHE-5 scale investigates “engagement” by evaluating multiple levels of the patients’ perception of their health (Graffigna et al., 2015). The PHE-5 scale was completed at the beginning of each patient education encounter and was given as a post-test after project completion to participants via follow up phone calls during the last two weeks of the portal program.
Currently, just about 50 percent of patients actually use their patient portals, meaning only about half of patients are even viewing their own medical information. A 2018 study from the University of Michigan found that patient education and provider testimony may motivate more patients to access the patient portal.
The survey of about 1,000 adult patients found that only 57 percent know their own blood type. Only 38 percent know their cholesterol levels, while 33 percent know their blood sugar levels. Racial disparities also emerged when looking at self-knowledge about key biometric data.
Patient portals are websites or apps where patients can access their health information from their Electronic Health Records (EHR). This study was conducted via an online survey to identify what factors influence an EHR patient portal user to believe that the portal is a valuable part of their health care. In total 395 survey responses were included in a logistic regression model. Our results suggest that only 24.1% of our survey responders consider their EHR portals as a valuable part of their health care. Participants who are more likely to consider EHR portals as valuable were those who found EHR portals useful for information, trusted their portal; believed their portals were important in managing health, those who believed their portals were easy to use, and those who developed a habit of using their portals. This study contributes to the understanding of what factors support the perceived value of EHR portals.
Health information technology (IT) is often proposed as a solution to fragmentation of care, and has been hypothesized to reduce readmission risk through better information flow. However, there are numerous distinct health IT capabilities, and it is unclear which, if any, are associated with lower readmission risk.To identify the specific health IT capabilities adopted by hospitals that are associated with hospital-level risk-standardized readmission rates (RSRRs) through path analyses using structural equation modeling.This STROBE-compliant retrospective cross-sectional study included non-federal U.S. acute care hospitals, based on their adoption of specific types of health IT capabilities self-reported in a 2013 American Hospital Association IT survey as independent variables. The outcome measure included the 2014 RSRRs reported on Hospital Compare website.A 54-indicator 7-factor structure of hospital health IT capabilities was identified by exploratory factor analysis, and corroborated by confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent path analysis using Structural equation modeling revealed that a one-point increase in the hospital adoption of patient engagement capability latent scores (median path coefficient ß = -0.086; 95% Confidence Interval, -0.162 to -0.008), including functionalities like direct access to the electronic health records, would generally lead to a decrease in RSRRs by 0.086%. However, computerized hospital discharge and information exchange capabilities with other inpatient and outpatient providers were not associated with readmission rates.These findings suggest that improving patient access to and use of their electronic health records may be helpful in improving hospital performance on readmission; however, computerized hospital discharge and information exchange among clinicians did not seem as beneficial - perhaps because of the quality or timeliness of information transmitted. Future research should use more recent data to study, not just adoption of health IT capabilities, but also whether their usage is associated with lower readmission risk. Understanding which capabilities impact readmission risk can help policymakers and clinical stakeholders better focus their scarce resources as they invest in health IT to improve care delivery.
Background Personal health records (PHR) provide opportunities for improved patient engagement, collection of patient-generated data, and overcome health-system inefficiencies. While PHR use is increasing, uptake in rural populations is lower than in urban areas. Objectives The study aimed to identify priorities for PHR functionality and gain insights into meaning, value, and use of patient-generated data for rural primary care providers. Methods We performed PHR preimplementation focus groups with rural providers and their health care teams from five primary care clinics in a sparsely populated mountainous region of British Columbia, Canada to obtain their understanding of PHR functionality, needs, and perceived challenges. Results Eight general practitioners (GP), five medical office assistants, two nurse practitioners (NP), and two registered nurses (14 females and 3 males) participated in focus groups held at their respective clinics. Providers (GPs, NPs, and RNs) had been practicing for a median of 9.5 (range = 1–38) years and had used an electronic medical record for 7.0 (1–20) years. Participants expressed interest in incorporating functionality around two-way communication and appointment scheduling, previsit data gathering, patient and provider data sharing, virtual care including visits using videoconferencing tools, and postvisit sharing of educational materials. Three further themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) the context in which the providers' practice matters, (2) the need for providing patients and providers with choice (e.g., which data to share, who gets to initiate/respond in communications, and processes around virtual care visits), and (3) perceived risks of system use (e.g., increased complexity for older patients and workload barriers for the health care team). Conclusion Rural primary care teams perceived PHR opportunities for increased patient engagement and access to patient-generated data, while worries about changes in workflow were the biggest perceived risk. Recommendations for PHR adoption in a rural primary health network include setting provider-patient expectations about response times, ability to share notes selectively, and automatically augmented note-taking from virtual-care visits.
Patient engagement is essential for improving health outcomes and lowering health care costs . The use of patient portals is becoming increasingly important for patient health care engagement. A convenience sample of 100 community-dwelling older adults completed a battery of surveys to explore the use of patient portals as an engagement tool. Criterion sampling was used to select a subset of 23 participants from the initial telephone survey to participate in one of four focus groups based on prior experience with a patient health portal (yes or no) and level of health literacy (low or high). Two core concepts and corresponding themes emerged: Patient Engagement Behaviors included the themes of managing health care, collaborating with providers, relying on family support, being proactive, advocating for health care, and seeking information. Patient-Provider Interactions included the themes of providers coordinate care, providers they can trust, two-way communication with providers, providers know them well, and providers give essential health information. Findings revealed a synergistic relationship among Patient Engagement Behaviors, Patient-Provider Interactions, and family support that can be strengthened in combination to promote the health care engagement capacity of older adults. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14 (3), 138-149.].
Assisted living (AL) is a well-established alternative to nursing homes, promoting autonomy and choice in a residential environment. This article examines the opportunities that AL affords for older adults and areas for further research to optimize the fit between resident needs and the AL environment. The model of person-environment fit provides an organizing framework for our commentary. The environment of AL emphasizes choice, independence, and privacy. The acuity of health care needs in AL residents has evolved since its inception. Unlike earlier residents, many today live with multiple chronic conditions and need for functional supports. Regulated by states, there is high variability in oversight, staffing, and resources available in AL. Families play an important role in supporting residents, yet expectations for their engagement may not be clear. Descriptive research abounds but there is a need for more sophisticated approaches to understanding how the AL environment can provide optimal supports for older adults, across all states and across income and racial/ethnic groups. There are several methodological challenges to AL research, including the high variability among AL settings and across states, the lack of common data elements, and difficulty accessing representative samples. With the popularity of AL as an option, it will be important to continue to examine how this environment can evolve to meet the changing needs of the resident population, while balancing the elements of autonomy and affordability. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14 (1), 5-12.].