Patient Portal Preferences: Perspectives on Imaging Information

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Informatics
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Patient portals offer personalized health information delivery.
• Understanding patient-specific needs is crucial for effective portal design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey lung cancer patients' perceived information needs.
• To gather opinions on designing patient portals for this demographic.

Main Methods:

• Survey conducted with 41 lung cancer patients.
• Outpatient lung cancer clinic at UCLA Medical Center.
• Data collected on information desires and portal design preferences.

Main Results:

• Patients strongly desire access to diagnosis and imaging information.
• Over half of patients anticipate no increase in anxiety from portal access.
• Educational background did not significantly impact the need for report explanations or term definitions.

Conclusions:

• Patient portals can be designed to meet specific lung cancer patient information needs.
• Concerns about increased anxiety may be mitigated by portal access.
• Personalized information delivery through portals is feasible and desired by lung cancer patients.