TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns of electronic portal use among vulnerable patients in a nationwide practice-based research network
T2 - From the OCHIN Practice-based Research Network (PBRN)
AU - Wallace, Lorraine S.
AU - Angier, Heather
AU - Huguet, Nathalie
AU - Gaudino, James A.
AU - Krist, Alex
AU - Dearing, Marla
AU - Killerby, Marie
AU - Marino, Miguel
AU - DeVoe, Jennifer E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Support for this study was provided by the National Cancer Institute (grant R01 CA181452 and R01 CA168795) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (grant CDRN-1306-04716).
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Background: Underserved patient populations experience barriers to accessing and engaging within the complex health care system. Electronic patient portals have been proposed as a potential new way to improve access and engagement. We studied patient portal use for 12 consecutive months (365 days) among a large, nationally distributed, underserved patient population within the OCHIN (originally created as the Oregon Community Health Information Network and renamed OCHIN as other states joined) practice-based research network (PBRN). Methods: We retrospectively assessed adoption and use of Epic's MyChart patient portal in the first 12 months after MyChart was made available to the OCHIN PBRN. We examined electronic health record data from 36,549 patients aged ≥18 years who were offered a MyChart access code between May 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013, across the OCHIN PBRN in 13 states. Results: Overall, 29% of patients offered an access code logged into their MyChart account. Superusers (minimum of 2 logins per month over a 12-month period) accounted for 6% of users overall. Men, nonwhite patients, Hispanic patients, Spanish-speaking patients, and those with the lowest incomes were significantly less likely to activate. Publicly insured and uninsured patients were also less likely to log in to their MyChart account, but once activated they were more likely than privately insured patients to use MyChart functions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, compared with others, certain patient groups may be less interested in using patient portals or may have experienced significant barriers that prevented use. Making portal access available is a first step. Additional studies need to specifically identify health system-, clinic-, and patient-level barriers and facilitators to portal adoption and use.
AB - Background: Underserved patient populations experience barriers to accessing and engaging within the complex health care system. Electronic patient portals have been proposed as a potential new way to improve access and engagement. We studied patient portal use for 12 consecutive months (365 days) among a large, nationally distributed, underserved patient population within the OCHIN (originally created as the Oregon Community Health Information Network and renamed OCHIN as other states joined) practice-based research network (PBRN). Methods: We retrospectively assessed adoption and use of Epic's MyChart patient portal in the first 12 months after MyChart was made available to the OCHIN PBRN. We examined electronic health record data from 36,549 patients aged ≥18 years who were offered a MyChart access code between May 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013, across the OCHIN PBRN in 13 states. Results: Overall, 29% of patients offered an access code logged into their MyChart account. Superusers (minimum of 2 logins per month over a 12-month period) accounted for 6% of users overall. Men, nonwhite patients, Hispanic patients, Spanish-speaking patients, and those with the lowest incomes were significantly less likely to activate. Publicly insured and uninsured patients were also less likely to log in to their MyChart account, but once activated they were more likely than privately insured patients to use MyChart functions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, compared with others, certain patient groups may be less interested in using patient portals or may have experienced significant barriers that prevented use. Making portal access available is a first step. Additional studies need to specifically identify health system-, clinic-, and patient-level barriers and facilitators to portal adoption and use.
KW - Ambulatory Care Facilities
KW - Electronic Health Records
KW - Hispanic Americans
KW - Information Services
KW - Medical Assistance
KW - Medically Uninsured
KW - Oregon
KW - Poverty
KW - Practice-based Research
KW - Retrospective Studies
KW - Vulnerable Populations
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U2 - 10.3122/jabfm.2016.05.160046
DO - 10.3122/jabfm.2016.05.160046
M3 - Article
C2 - 27613792
AN - SCOPUS:84987621913
SN - 1557-2625
VL - 29
SP - 592
EP - 603
JO - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
JF - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
IS - 5
ER -