Dive Brief:
- A new study by Mayo Clinic researchers found that use of patient portals and e-visits had no significant impact on the frequency of face-to-face primary care visits for adults.
- The study, which was published in Telemedicine and e-Health, looked at 2,357 primary care patients who used electronic messaging via a patient portal.
- Analysis showed that there was no significant change in visit frequency among patients with higher message utilization, or for patients who had been using the message feature for a longer period.
Dive Insight:
I was quite surprised to learn that researchers found virtually no difference between those who used a physician portal for messaging frequently and those that seldom use the portal messaging function. Clearly, the assumptions that have been made about messaging lowering primary care demand need re-examined. The next step here, I'd argue, is to determine whether patients who use portals more frequently are healthier.