Patient-Portal Compared with Supplemental In-Office Tablet Screening for Health-Related Social Needs in Primary Care

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Social Determinants of Health
• Health Equity

Background:

• Screening for health-related social needs (HRSN) is expanding, but optimal delivery methods remain unclear.
• Understanding patient engagement with different screening modalities is crucial for effective implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the completion rates of patient-portal versus in-person tablet-based health-related social needs (HRSN) screening.
• To identify disparities in HRSN screening and prevalence based on patient demographics.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of 24,597 adult primary care patients from July 2022 to July 2023.
• Analysis of HRSN screening completion via patient portal vs. in-office tablet.
• Exploration of sociodemographic associations with HRSN screening and burden.

Main Results:

• Only 37% of patients completed the HRSN questionnaire.
• Patient-portal screening (86.1%) was more common than tablet screening (14.0%).
• Tablet screening yielded higher positive HRSN rates; Black/African American patients and those with Medicaid had lower completion but higher positive rates.

Conclusions:

• Current HRSN screening rates are suboptimal, with significant disparities observed.
• In-office tablet screening may be more effective for identifying unmet HRSN compared to patient portals.
• Demographic factors like race and insurance status influence HRSN screening completion and prevalence.