Acute Care Patient Portal Intervention: Portal Use and Patient Activation

Area of Science:

• Health Information Technology (HIT)
• Patient Engagement
• Healthcare Outcomes

Background:

• Patient-facing HIT tools like patient portals aim to enhance patient engagement and care.
• Limited adoption of these tools in hospital settings hinders their potential.
• The impact of acute care patient portals on outcomes like patient activation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the utilization patterns of an acute care patient portal.
• To examine the association between patient portal use and patient/care partner activation within hospitals.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an acute care patient portal across six units over 18 months.
• Analysis of user characteristics and portal engagement metrics (page visits, usage days, access duration).
• Assessment of patient and care partner activation using PAM-13 and CG-PAM, with propensity weighting and regression analysis.

Main Results:

• Over 59% of sampled patients enrolled; users were younger, healthier, and more likely to use existing portals.
• Top features accessed included lab results, care team info, and medications.
• Portal use averaged 1.8 days during hospitalization, with significant patient activation association in neurology and medicine services.

Conclusions:

• Acute care patient portal use is primarily for viewing clinical information and is concentrated early in hospitalization.
• An association exists between patient portal use and enhanced patient activation.
• Increased utilization of HIT tools by patients and care partners is crucial for improved engagement and outcomes.