Abstract
BackgroundPatient portal use can be a stimulant for patient engagement. Yet, the heterogeneous landscape of tethered patient portals, is a major barrier to further portal development and implementation. A variety in portal access means, functionalities, usability and usefulness exists; without having accurate sight on patient perspectives. We aimed to get insights on possible coherence between patients’ preferred usage factors of portals and patients’ prioritization of functionalities, within the complexity of their disease management across different healthcare organizations.MethodsA conjoint analysis questionnaire was sent to patient panels of two large patient associations in The Netherlands, centered on heart and vascular diseases and lung diseases.ResultsOf 1294 patient respondents, 81% were 55+ years old and 49% were 65+ years old. Overall respondents significantly prioritized user-friendly access to a portal, via a laptop or desktop. Patients aged < 65 were less negative about using tablets to access a portal compared to the total respondents. Patients had no preference for a digital interoperable export functionality; most respondents preferred to create printable overviews. Built-in publication delay of two weeks for medical information was not preferred. Our results show no significant preference of patients between ‘instant publication’ versus ‘publication after new information has been explained by a healthcare provider’. Overall respondents and experienced portal users had a strong preference to be able to communicate with their provider via a portal and to use a portal providing information from multiple providers. Lung patients preferred information from one provider and did not require the possibility to ask online questions.ConclusionsHeart and vascular patients as well as lung patients prefer similar technical patient portal aspects, independent of their medical condition. Yet, in current portals consistency on this matter is lacking. It is highly assumable that offering a more consistent user-experience across the variety of patient portals could help increase patient portal acceptance, ultimately helping to stimulate patient engagement via patient portal use. We further affirm the need for customization on medical information publication and sharing information of various providers through patient portals, where information provision can be adapted to preferences of patients related to their medical condition(s).
Highlights
Patient portal use can be a stimulant for patient engagement
The tethered patient portal differs from a personal health record, in which the patient can collect health data and he/she decides whether to share that data with providers or family members
Most tethered patient portals hold medical information that is derived from the Electronic Health Record (EHR), such as a discharge summary, a medication and allergy list and laboratory results [4, 6,7,8]
Summary
Patient portal use can be a stimulant for patient engagement. Yet, the heterogeneous landscape of tethered patient portals, is a major barrier to further portal development and implementation. Patients nowadays live in an information driven world, where they can get support in self-management of their health and conditions by accessing their medical record and communicating with healthcare providers via patient portals [1]. A tethered patient portal is an application build on an Electronic Health Record (EHR) infrastructure of a specific healthcare organization [5]. This organization manages the portal and decides which information can be accessed by the patient. In this aspect, the tethered patient portal differs from a personal health record, in which the patient can collect health data and he/she decides whether to share that data with providers or family members. Portals can include more interactive features and allow patients to send secure messages to clinical staff, schedule appointments or request prescription refills [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
