Abstract
BackgroundAlthough electronic medical record (EMR)-tethered patient portals are common in other countries, they are still emerging in Canada.ObjectiveWe aimed to report user satisfaction and the effects of a patient portal on medical appointment attendance in a Canadian cohort of patients within our publicly funded health care system.MethodsTwo surveys were deployed, via email, at 2 weeks and 6 months following the first recorded patient portal access. Database audits of visit attendance were used to supplement and cross reference survey data.ResultsBetween January 2016 and July 2018, 4296 patients accessed the patient portal. During the study, 28% (957/3421) consented patient portal users responded to one or more semistructured electronic surveys. Of respondents, 93% (891/957) reported that the patient portal was easy to use, 51% (492/975) reported it saved time when scheduling an appointment, and 40% (382/957) reported that they had to repeat themselves less during appointments. Respondents reported patient portal–related changes in health system use, with 48% (462/957) reporting avoiding a clinic visit and 2.7% (26/957) avoiding an emergency department visit. Across 19,968 visits in clinics where the patient portal was introduced, missed appointments were recorded in 9.5% (858/9021) of non–patient portal user visits, compared with 4.5% (493/9021) for patient portal users, representing a 53% relative reduction in no-show rates.ConclusionsEarly experience with an EMR-tethered patient portal showed strong reports of positive patient experience, a self-reported decrease in health system use, and a measured decrease in missed appointment rates. Implications on the expanded use of patient portals requires more quantitative and qualitative study in Canada.
Highlights
Canadians desire electronic access to their health information and have an expectation of managing their health system interactions digitally [1]
The patient portal that we studied is tethered to a shared electronic medical record (EMR) known as eCLINICIAN, used at the time by approximately 1110 physicians, residents, and students, and approximately 6000 nurses, allied health professionals, and other staff
In addition to accessing their own health information, patient portal users reported using the patient portal for their children (36/957, 4%) or their spouse (131/957, 16%)
Summary
Canadians desire electronic access to their health information and have an expectation of managing their health system interactions digitally [1]. That access is provided through electronic medical record (EMR)-tethered and standalone web-based patient portals [2-12]. Patient portals can deliver digital access to secure messaging, health information (eg, test results, lists of medications and allergies), scheduling functions, and self-management of health issues such as weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure. 1 (page number not for citation purposes) portals reported patient benefits including enhanced satisfaction, better relationships with their care providers, more efficient medication refills, and improved understanding of their health information [3,4,11,13-16]. Electronic medical record (EMR)-tethered patient portals are common in other countries, they are still emerging in Canada
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