Predictors of Mental Health Professionals' Perceptions of Patient Portals

Mental healthcare settings have lagged behind other care areas in their adoption of patient portals. One of the commonly cited reasons for this lower adoption rate is the perceptions and comfort level of mental health professionals in sharing their clinical notes with this population. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of mental health professionals' perceptions of a) whether mental health patients should have access to a patient portal; b) whether their documentation might change as a result of mental health patients having access to a patient portal, and c) whether access to a patient portal by mental health patients makes them feel uncomfortable. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 250 health professionals employed in a mental health teaching hospital in Toronto, Canada. Multiple linear regression and content analysis were performed.