Evaluating mobile patient portals from a health behavioral change support perspective: mining user feedback using...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Healthcare delivery increasingly relies on information systems for cost-effectiveness.
• A shift towards patient-centered care empowers patients in managing their health.
• Patient portals are consumer-centric tools designed to enhance patient engagement in healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine functionalities and features of current mobile patient portal apps.
• To map these features to design principles of health behavioral change support systems.
• To identify limitations in existing patient portal applications.

Main Methods:

• User experience analysis of mobile patient portal applications.
• Mapping identified features to established health behavioral change support system design principles.
• Qualitative assessment of portal functionalities.

Main Results:

• Current patient portal apps exhibit limitations in key areas.
• Identified limitations include poor integration with medical devices and lack of social support features.
• Other limitations involve insufficient customization, persuasive messaging, and peer-based technical support.

Conclusions:

• Existing patient portal apps offer valuable tools for patient engagement but have significant room for improvement.
• Enhancements in device integration, social support, customization, and persuasive features are crucial for future development.
• Addressing these limitations will better support patient-centered care and health behavior change.