Patient Electronic Health Record Portal Use and Patient-Centered Outcomes in CKDPlain-Language Summary

• Published in: Kidney medicine 2021-03, Vol.3 (2), p.231-240.e1
• Main Authors: June Tome, Shahbaz Ahmed, Angela Fagerlin, Corey Powell, Marcio Mourao, Emily Chen, Sam Harrison, Jonathan Segal, Khaled Abdel-Kader, Julie Wright Nunes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: chronic kidney disease; internet use; patient knowledge; Patient portal; patient stress
• ISSN: 2590-0595; 2590-0595

Rationale & Objective: Electronic health record portals are increasingly emphasized in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, associations of portal use with clinical and patient-centered outcomes remain unknown. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey (April 2015 to March 2018). Setting & Participants: Nondialysis patients with CKD from nephrology clinics within 1 academic medical center. Exposures: Patient demographics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, and income), kidney function. Outcomes: Association between portal use as an outcome and exposures. Additionally, associations of portal use and patient demographics with 4 patient–centered outcomes (CKD-specific knowledge, stress, and 2 self-ratings of health). Analytic Approach: Logistic regression to examine associations between patient portal use, demographics, and kidney function. Linear regression to examine associations between portal use and patient-centered outcomes. Results: Of 245 participants, mean age was 60 ± 17 (SD) years, 182 (77%) were White, 121 (49%) were women, 230 (96%) had a high school education or higher, and 96 (45%) had