In recent years, patient portals have become common. According to HealthIT.gov, about 73% of people in the U.S. were offered online access to their medical records through portals or apps in 2022. This is 24% more than in 2020. Also, about 57% of people checked their online medical records at least once last year. That number has grown by 50% compared to two years ago.
These numbers show that healthcare groups are putting money into letting patients see their health data online. The Cures Act Final Rule, made in 2020, helped by encouraging the use of secure, standard application programming interfaces (APIs). This rule makes it easier for different electronic health records (EHR) systems to work together and lets patients access their health data electronically.
Even with this growth and easier access, not all patient groups use portals fully. Some healthcare organizations still struggle to get the most out of these systems.
Although more people can use portals, many problems stop patients from using them well and often. Research shows several main barriers:
One big problem is that many patients and some doctors do not know enough about what portals can do. A study by Vadim Dukhanin and others held 73 meetings with different healthcare groups to learn about problems in using portals, especially the shared access feature for caregivers. The study found that many patients and families do not understand how portals work or how to give access to other people helping with care.
Educational materials made in this study pointed out that “People remember less than half of what their doctors say.” This means just telling patients about portals is not enough. Clear, simple, and repeated teaching is needed. Using brochures, posters, talking points for doctors, and website resources helped get more older people to sign up and use portals.
For medical practice managers and IT teams, education should not be done only once during visits. Reminders, follow-up messages, and easy-to-use materials are important to help people feel confident using portals.
Digital literacy means knowing how to use digital devices and websites. Many people, especially older adults, people from different racial or economic backgrounds, and those with less schooling, find this hard. Health literacy, or understanding health information, also affects how well patients use portals.
A review of 71 studies on patient views of digital health tools showed that not knowing much about technology or health makes it harder for patients to use portals. Many find the portal screens confusing or scary and do not want to use them often.
To help, practices should create simple, easy-to-use portals, offer training for patients, and give support regularly. Developers should listen to patient feedback to make portals easier for everyone.
Some patients worry about privacy and safety when using portals. Health data is sensitive, and some fear their personal information might be exposed online. Even though laws like HIPAA protect health data, patients still feel unsure.
Doctors and clinic leaders need to explain clearly what safety steps are in place. Being open about how data is handled helps patients trust portals and use them more.
Most patients use portals mainly to see test results (90%) and clinical notes (70%). But fewer use features like downloading health records or sending their information to others electronically. Only about 1 in 3 download their health data, and only 1 in 5 send medical info to another provider or family member via the portal.
This lower use of advanced features might be because patients do not know about them or find them hard to use. Practices can do more to teach patients about all the ways portals can help, like sharing information for second opinions or better care coordination.
Another problem is that patients rarely use apps that combine information from several portals. Even though 51% of people used smartphone apps to check records in 2022, only 2% used apps that join data from different providers.
When data is split across many places, it makes managing health harder, especially for patients seeing many doctors. This shows that patients need more education about tools that bring health info together. It also points to the need for better ways to connect systems.
Older adults make up a bigger share of patient portal users but face special challenges. Many need help from family or caregivers to manage their health info and communicate with doctors. Shared access lets these helpers use the portal safely with their own login.
The Shared Access Project Team worked across three different healthcare groups to get more older adults and their helpers signed up for shared access. They talked to patients, caregivers, clinicians, and staff to find problems like low awareness, tricky signup steps, and how the portal fits into daily work.
The project used a human-focused design, making special teaching materials for different groups and adding shared access registration into clinic routines, even during telehealth visits. This showed that including everyone affected helps improve portal use.
Doctors and healthcare systems can learn from this by creating programs that include caregivers in teaching and managing portals. This helps keep patients safe and happy while supporting teamwork.
One new idea to fix portal problems is using artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation. These can help front office work and support patients and staff with portal tasks.
Companies like Simbo AI make phone automation and answering services with AI. In medical offices, AI chatbots and virtual helpers can answer common questions about signing up for portals, resetting passwords, or booking appointments. This lowers the load for staff. Patients get quick help with tech problems.
AI can also send personalized reminders about using the portal, new messages from doctors, or upcoming visits. Some AI tools use natural language processing to guide patients step-by-step on portals or shared access. This is useful for people who find technology hard.
For office workers, automation can make managing portals easier. Systems can spot patients who have not signed up and send calls, texts, or emails to remind them. Automation can also speed up checking and approving shared access for caregivers while following privacy rules.
AI tools that connect with electronic health record systems help teams communicate better. Staff get alerts about portal issues, can note education contacts, and watch how many patients use the portal. This cuts down on manual work and keeps education steady.
Because patient needs and healthcare settings vary in the U.S., medical office leaders should use flexible and inclusive plans to improve portal use. Clinics serving diverse groups must think about extra hurdles to using digital health tools.
Key steps for clinics include:
More patients in the U.S. can now use portals, which can help them be more involved and improve care. However, problems with teaching, digital skills, privacy worries, and fitting portals into workflows limit their full use.
Medical office leaders and IT managers play a key role in fixing these problems. They can improve education, use AI and automation tools, and bring clinical and office teams together to get better patient portal use.
Focusing on these simple actions can help healthcare providers serve patients better. This is especially true for groups who have used less digital health before. It can also improve how care is shared and health results with technology.
Patient portals are secure online tools that allow patients to access their medical records and health information, empowering them to make informed health decisions and track their health goals.
Access to patient portals has significantly increased, with 73% of individuals reported being offered online access in 2022, compared to just over 30% in 2014.
The Cures Act Final Rule, implemented in 2020, aimed to enhance patient and provider access to health-related data via secure application programming interfaces (APIs), increasing patient portal adoption.
The use of smartphone apps for accessing medical records increased, with all users of apps accessing their records more frequently than those using web-only interfaces.
Most common uses of patient portals include viewing test results (90%) and clinical notes (70%), while fewer individuals reported using features to download or transmit information.
More than half of individuals who had online access to their medical records reported accessing them at least three times in 2022.
In 2022, 51% of individuals accessed their online medical records using apps, either exclusively or in combination with a website.
Low usage rates of the transmit function suggest a need for better patient education on its availability and the technical capabilities required for receiving data.
Enhanced patient engagement through portals has the potential to decrease healthcare costs and strengthen patient-physician relationships by improving communication and health management.
In 2022, only 2% of individuals reported using apps to combine information from multiple patient portals, indicating low awareness or preference for existing systems instead.
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