Can Secure Patient-Provider Messaging Improve Diabetes Care?

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Diabetes Management
• Patient-Provider Communication

Background:

• Patient portals and secure messaging are increasingly common in healthcare.
• Limited evidence exists on the impact of messaging on clinical quality for type 2 diabetes patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between secure messaging and diabetes management.
• To determine if messaging impacts face-to-face visits and clinical quality measures.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study of 37,762 patient-years from 2011-2014.
• Analysis of secure messages between patients and providers for medical advice.
• Statistical adjustment for patient and provider characteristics and clustering.

Main Results:

• 72% of patients used secure messaging; frequent visitors were more likely to message.
• Messaging was associated with a higher likelihood of meeting HbA1c targets (<8%).
• Increased message frequency correlated with improved quality measures (e.g., eye exams), especially for non-insulin users.

Conclusions:

• Patients with type 2 diabetes frequently utilize secure messaging for medical advice.
• Secure messaging is positively associated with better diabetes management in outpatient settings.