why are older adults skeptical of patient portal

Common reasons cited for not setting up a patient portal included: older adults do not like communicating about their health by computer (40 percent); do not have a need for a portal (38 percent); did not know they needed to set something up (33 percent); have not gotten around to setting up a portal (29 percent); are not comfortable with technology (26 percent); and/or their provider does not offer the option of a portal (26 percent).

Full Answer

Why do older adults use patient portals?

Our finding that those older adults who use patient portals do so because the use of the portal facilitates efficient and easy access to health information, medical reports, and clinical appointments, is consistent with prior studies investigating older adult adoption of new technologies, such as automated teller cards and cell phones18, 19.

What is a patient portal?

Keywords: Patient portals, older adults, health information management Introduction and Background A patient portal is a type of personal health record (PHR) that is connected to an electronic health record (EHR) system. Patient portals provide a secure website through which patients can access their clinical data.

Can patient portals and ephrs be integrated into older adults’ health management?

However, further research with older adults is needed to understand how patient portals or ePHRs could be integrated into older adults’ health management. In addition, researchers should consider relating their findings to the design of patient portals and ePHR systems.

Why do we need a portal to the health information portal?

As many health care systems offer their patients a portal to their health information, there are opportunities for it to be an integral part in keeping patients informed about their health information and encouraging them to take an active role in their health care.

Growing availability, incomplete use

For the past several years, the federal government has required hospitals, health systems and other health care providers to offer patient portal options to their patients if they want to earn extra funding from Medicare.

Concerns and divides

The poll’s results highlight the concerns that might be keeping older adults from setting up and logging in to the patient portals available to them.

How old are Portal users?

Portal users ranged in age from 61 to 93 years , and most lived independently in a private residence (60%) and had college education or higher (67%). Although portal nonusers were similar in age, fewer were college educated (53%) and more lived in retirement or assisted living facilities (74%).

How do patient portals empower consumers?

When used effectively, patient portals can empower consumers by enabling active management of their own care. However, we know little about how patient portal use fits into the broader personal health information management (PHIM) practices of various groups, such as older adults.

Why is it important to understand consumer health information?

Important to the success of the consumer health movement is accurate, accessible, and understandable health information to assist with treatment and health decisions . Older adults are the largest consumers of health care and expend the greatest proportion of US health care dollars.