Patient Portals: An Underused Resource for Improving Patient Engagement

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Patient portals have long been recognized for their potential to enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes.
• Despite incentives, patient portal adoption rates in the United States have grown slowly, indicating a complex adoption dynamic.
• Limited research exists specifically on patient portal utilization within the pulmonary domain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the evidence regarding patient portal use and its effects, with a specific focus on the pulmonary field.
• To identify research gaps concerning patient portal adoption and impact in pulmonary practices.
• To share insights from a pulmonary department's experience with patient portal implementation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on patient portal use and effects.
• Focused analysis on research within the pulmonary domain.
• Case report on a pulmonary department's patient portal implementation.

Main Results:

• A significant scarcity of studies investigating patient portal use in pulmonary practice was identified.
• Key areas for future research in this field were highlighted.
• The experience demonstrated the potential benefits and challenges of integrating patient portals in a clinical setting.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need for more research into patient portal effectiveness in pulmonary medicine.
• Further investigation is required to understand and overcome barriers to patient portal adoption in this specialty.
• Patient portals hold potential for improving patient engagement and outcomes in pulmonary care, warranting further exploration and implementation efforts.