A system-wide approach to digital equity: the Digital Access Coordinator program in primary care

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Equity
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital health tools, exposing significant digital disparities.
• Addressing these digital literacy gaps is crucial for equitable healthcare access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a system-wide digital navigation program in improving patient portal enrollment.
• To identify key strategies for implementing digital navigation initiatives.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of the Digital Access Coordinator (DAC) program, employing 12 multilingual navigators.
• Program deployed across a primary care network serving 1.25 million patients and 1211 clinicians.

Main Results:

• Outreach to 16,045 patients, with 13,413 successfully contacted.
• Achieved a 61% patient portal enrollment rate (8193 patients).
• Significant enrollment increases (mean 21.3%) observed across 7 clinics, particularly benefiting Hispanic and English/Spanish-speaking populations.

Conclusions:

• Digital navigation programs are essential for supporting patient portal enrollment.
• Prioritizing such programs is a key strategy for advancing digital health equity.