Accessing Patient Portals: Some Patients Want a Helping Hand.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Equity
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Patient portals offer access to health information and communication with care teams.
• However, equitable access to these digital tools remains a challenge for many patient populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient portal access and engagement among diverse populations in community health settings.
• To identify demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with disparities in patient portal utilization.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to 233 adult patients across four community health clinics and a local organization.
• Data collected included patient demographics, internet access, device ownership, and patient portal usage history.

Main Results:

• Nearly half of all patients surveyed had never accessed a patient portal.
• Lack of home internet access (66%), being a Spanish speaker (59%), and identifying as Hispanic/Latino (53%) were associated with higher rates of never using a portal.
• 32% of patients expressed interest in portal training, with a preference for individualized instruction.

Conclusions:

• Significant disparities in patient portal access are evident in safety net practices, highlighting a digital divide.
• Limited digital technology access, insufficient awareness of portal benefits, and lack of clinician engagement contribute to these inequities.
• Many patients are receptive to training to improve their portal utilization and access to health information.