Dive Brief:
- Recent research on patient portals indicates they provide some measurable benefits; However, none of the studies includes a randomized control trial, according to a review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
- The authors, from Texas State University, write that very few studies associated use of the patient portal or its features with improved medical outcomes, and that results were weak. They did find that 37% of papers reported improvements such as "medication adherence, disease awareness, self-management of disease, a decrease of office visits, an increase in preventative medicine, or an increase in extended office visits at the patient's request for additional information." They also found evidence of an increase in patient satisfaction and customer retention.
- The goal of the study was to see whether hospitals that were meeting Meaningful Use requirements with their patient portals were "actually seeing adoption of those portals or improved medical outcomes as a result." However, due to insufficient information, the study was unable to answer those questions.
Dive Insight:
The main takeaway is that further research is needed to evaluate the use and impact of patient portals.
"Future research should focus on use of the patient portal and empirically measured quality indicators such as medical outcomes, medication adherence and patient satisfaction," the study authors write. "Preferably, the study designs should be RCTs, or at a minimum, an experimental design. …The patient portal has great potential to meet both intents of Meaningful Use, but there is not sufficient evidence to declare its efficacy."
The authors further suggest that portal developers conduct ease-of-use studies on their products to ensure they are easy to navigate, and that policymakers should consider extending Meaningful Use incentives. "The market has been slow to adapt, and as a result, the maturity of the portal is not where it needs to be in order to improve quality of care and more deeply involve the patient in the medical decision," they say.
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