Physicians' Perspectives on Inpatient Portals: Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Informatics
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Inpatient portals offer patients access to health information during acute care.
• Low adoption rates persist despite potential benefits for quality of care and patient empowerment.
• Physician endorsement is key to driving patient adoption of health information technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review physicians' perspectives on inpatient portals.
• To identify factors influencing physician acceptance and use of inpatient portals.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of studies from 1994-2021.
• Searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus.
• Excluded studies on non-physician clinicians, outpatient settings, or only shared notes.
• Utilized inductive thematic analysis and narrative synthesis.

Main Results:

• Nine studies met inclusion criteria, mostly from the US.
• Key themes included communication, privacy, portal functionality, patient use, and workflow.
• Initial physician concerns about communication and workflow were not supported by postimplementation data.

Conclusions:

• Physicians perceive inpatient portals as beneficial, improving communication.
• Enhanced training and physician involvement in design are crucial for adoption.
• Addressing concerns about patient portal usage and expectations can overcome initial pessimism.