Who Isn’t Using Patient Portals And Why? Evidence And Implications From A National Sample Of US Adults

Patient portals that provide secure online access to medical record information and provider communication can improve health care. Yet new technologies can exacerbate existing disparities. We analyzed information about 2,325 insured respondents to the nationally representative 2017 Health Informati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2018-12, Vol.37 (12), p.1948-1954
Main Authors: Anthony, Denise L., Campos-Castillo, Celeste, Lim, Paulina S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Adults
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009-US
Cancer
Communication
Electronic health records
Health disparities
Health education
Health information
Health insurance
Health services
Information technology
Internet
Internet access
Medicaid
Medical records
Minority & ethnic groups
New technology
Nonuse
Older people
Patients
Personal health
Privacy
Respondents
Socioeconomic factors
Telemedicine
Trends
Web portals
Websites
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Description
Summary:Patient portals that provide secure online access to medical record information and provider communication can improve health care. Yet new technologies can exacerbate existing disparities. We analyzed information about 2,325 insured respondents to the nationally representative 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey to examine characteristics of portal nonusers and reasons for nonuse. Sixty-three percent reported not using a portal during the prior year. In multivariable analysis, we found that nonusers were more likely to be male, be on Medicaid, lack a regular provider, and have less than a college education, compared to users. Similar disparities existed in who reported being offered access to a portal, with nonwhites also less likely to report being offered access. Reasons for nonuse included the desire to speak directly to providers and privacy concerns, both of which require recognition of the important role of provider communication and patient-provider relationships.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05117