scholarly journals Acute Care Patient Portal Intervention: Portal Use and Patient Activation

10.2196/13336 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. e13336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumiko O Schnock ◽  
Julia E Snyder ◽  
Theresa E Fuller ◽  
Megan Duckworth ◽  
Maxwell Grant ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumiko O Schnock ◽  
Julia E Snyder ◽  
Theresa E Fuller ◽  
Megan Duckworth ◽  
Maxwell Grant ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Patient-facing health information technology (HIT) tools, such as patient portals, are recognized as a potential mechanism to facilitate patient engagement and patient-centered care, yet the use of these tools remains limited in the hospital setting. Although research in this area is growing, it is unclear how the use of acute care patient portals might affect outcomes, such as patient activation. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the use of an acute care patient portal and investigate its association with patient and care partner activation in the hospital setting. METHODS We implemented an acute care patient portal on 6 acute care units over an 18-month period. We investigated the characteristics of the users (patients and their care partners) of the patient portal, as well as their use of the portal. This included the number of visits to each page, the number of days used, the length of the user’s access period, and the average percent of days used during the access period. Patient and care partner activation was assessed using the short form of the patient activation measure (PAM-13) and the caregiver patient activation measure (CG-PAM). Comparisons of the activation scores were performed using propensity weighting and robust weighted linear regression. RESULTS Of the 2974 randomly sampled patients, 59.01% (1755/2974) agreed to use the acute care patient portal. Acute care patient portal enrollees were younger, less sick, less likely to have Medicare as their insurer, and more likely to use the Partners Healthcare enterprise ambulatory patient portal (Patient Gateway). The most used features of the acute care patient portal were the laboratory test results, care team information, and medication list. Most users accessed the portal between 1 to 4 days during their hospitalization, and the average number of days used (logged in at least once per day) was 1.8 days. On average, users accessed the portal 42.69% of the hospital days during which it was available. There was significant association with patient activation on the neurology service (P<.001) and medicine service (P=.01), after the introduction of HIT tools and the acute care patient portal, but not on the oncology service. CONCLUSIONS Portal users most often accessed the portal to view their clinical information, though portal usage was limited to only the first few days of enrollment. We found an association between the use of the portal and HIT tools with improved levels of patient activation. These tools may help facilitate patient engagement and improve outcomes when fully utilized by patients and care partners. Future study should leverage usage metrics to describe portal use and assess the impact of HIT tools on specific outcome measures in the hospital setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 539-550
Author(s):  
William Martinez ◽  
Amber J. Hackstadt ◽  
Gerald B. Hickson ◽  
Thomas Knoerl ◽  
S. Trent Rosenbloom ◽  
...  

Abstract Background My Diabetes Care (MDC) is a novel, multifaceted patient portal intervention designed to help patients better understand their diabetes health data and support self-management. MDC uses infographics to visualize and summarize patients' diabetes health data, incorporates motivational strategies, and provides literacy level–appropriate educational resources. Objectives We aimed to assess the usability, acceptability, perceptions, and potential impact of MDC. Methods We recruited 69 participants from four clinics affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Participants were given 1 month of access to MDC and completed pre- and post-questionnaires including validated measures of usability and patient activation, and questions about user experience. Results Sixty participants completed the study. Participants' mean age was 58, 55% were females, 68% were Caucasians, and 48% had limited health literacy (HL). Most participants (80%) visited MDC three or more times and 50% spent a total of ≥15 minutes on MDC. Participants' median System Usability Scale (SUS) score was 78.8 [Q1, Q3: 72.5, 87.5] and significantly greater than the threshold value of 68 indicative of “above average” usability (p < 0.001). The median SUS score of patients with limited HL was similar to those with adequate HL (77.5 [72.5, 85.0] vs. 82.5 [72.5, 92.5]; p = 0.41). Participants most commonly reported the literacy level–appropriate educational links and health data infographics as features that helped them better understand their diabetes health data (65%). All participants (100%) intended to continue to use MDC. Median Patient Activation Measure® scores increased postintervention (64.3 [55.6, 72.5] vs. 67.8 [60.6, 75.0]; p = 0.01). Conclusion Participants, including those with limited HL, rated the usability of MDC above average, anticipated continued use, and identified key features that improved their understanding of diabetes health data. Patient activation improved over the study period. Our findings suggest MDC may be a beneficial addition to existing patient portals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa V Grossman ◽  
Sung W Choi ◽  
Sarah Collins ◽  
Patricia C Dykes ◽  
Kevin J O’Leary ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To provide recommendations on how to most effectively implement advanced features of acute care patient portals, including: (1) patient-provider communication, (2) care plan information, (3) clinical data viewing, (4) patient education, (5) patient safety, (6) caregiver access, and (7) hospital amenities. Recommendations We summarize the experiences of 6 organizations that have implemented acute care portals, representing a variety of settings and technologies. We discuss the considerations for and challenges of incorporating various features into an acute care patient portal, and extract the lessons learned from each institution’s experience. We recommend that stakeholders in acute care patient portals should: (1) consider the benefits and challenges of generic and structured electronic care team messaging; (2) examine strategies to provide rich care plan information, such as daily schedule, problem list, care goals, discharge criteria, and post-hospitalization care plan; (3) offer increasingly comprehensive access to clinical data and medical record information; (4) develop alternative strategies for patient education that go beyond infobuttons; (5) focus on improving patient safety through explicit safety-oriented features; (6) consider strategies to engage patient caregivers through portals while remaining cognizant of potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations; (7) consider offering amenities to patients through acute care portals, such as information about navigating the hospital or electronic food ordering.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren M Denneson ◽  
Maura Pisciotta ◽  
Elizabeth R Hooker ◽  
Amira Trevino ◽  
Steven K Dobscha

Abstract Objective This study evaluates whether a web-based educational program for patients who read their mental health notes online improves patient-clinician communication and increases patient activation. Methods The web-based educational program, developed with end-user input, was designed to educate patients on the content of mental health notes, provide guidance on communicating with clinicians about notes, and facilitate patients’ safe and purposeful use of their health information. Eligible patients were engaged in mental health treatment (≥1 visit in the prior 6 months) and had logged into the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patient portal at least twice. Participants completed measures of patient activation, perceived efficacy in healthcare interactions, patient trust in their clinicians, and patient assessment of the therapeutic relationship before and after participating in the program. A total of 247 participants had complete data and engaged with the program for 5 minutes or more, comprising the analytic sample. Multivariate analysis using mixed effects models were used to examine pre-post changes in outcomes. Results In bivariate analyses, patient activation, perceived efficacy in healthcare interactions, and trust in clinicians increased significantly between pre- and post-training assessments. In fully adjusted models, changes in patient activation [b = 2.71 (1.41, 4.00), P &lt; 0.01] and perceived efficacy in healthcare interactions [b = 1.27 (0.54, 2.01), P &lt; 0.01)] remained significant. Conclusions Findings suggest that this educational program may help empower mental health patients who read their notes online to be active participants in their care, while also providing information and tools that may facilitate better relationships with their clinicians.


2014 ◽  
Vol 99 (10) ◽  
pp. 3531-3535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Booth ◽  
Clare I. Hays

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuj K. Dalal ◽  
Patricia Dykes ◽  
Lipika Samal ◽  
Kelly McNally ◽  
Eli Mlaver ◽  
...  

Background Care plan concordance among patients and clinicians during hospitalization is suboptimal. Objective This article determines whether an electronic health record (EHR)-integrated patient portal was associated with increased understanding of the care plan, including the key recovery goal, among patients and clinicians in acute care setting. Methods The intervention included (1) a patient portal configured to solicit a single patient-designated recovery goal and display the care plan from the EHR for participating patients; and (2) an electronic care plan for all unit-based nurses that displays patient-inputted information, accessible to all clinicians via the EHR. Patients admitted to an oncology unit, including their nurses and physicians, were enrolled before and after implementation. Main outcomes included mean concordance scores for the overall care plan and individual care plan elements. Results Of 457 and 283 eligible patients approached during pre- and postintervention periods, 55 and 46 participated in interviews, respectively, including their clinicians. Of 46 postintervention patients, 27 (58.7%) enrolled in the patient portal. The intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated a nonsignificant increase in the mean concordance score for the overall care plan (62.0–67.1, adjusted p = 0.13), and significant increases in mean concordance scores for the recovery goal (30.3–57.7, adjusted p < 0.01) and main reason for hospitalization (58.6–79.2, adjusted p < 0.01). The on-treatment analysis of patient portal enrollees demonstrated significant increases in mean concordance scores for the overall care plan (61.9–70.0, adjusted p < 0.01), the recovery goal (30.4–66.8, adjusted p < 0.01), and main reason for hospitalization (58.3–81.7, adjusted p < 0.01), comparable to the intention-to-treat analysis. Conclusion Implementation of an EHR-integrated patient portal was associated with increased concordance for key care plan components. Future efforts should be directed at improving concordance for other care plan components and conducting larger, randomized studies to evaluate the impact on key outcomes during transitions of care. Clinical Trials Identifier NCT02258594.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (e1) ◽  
pp. e9-e17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A Collins ◽  
Ronen Rozenblum ◽  
Wai Yin Leung ◽  
Constance RC Morrison ◽  
Diana L Stade ◽  
...  

Objective: To describe current practices and stakeholder perspectives of patient portals in the acute care setting. We aimed to: (1) identify key features, (2) recognize challenges, (3) understand current practices for design, configuration, and use, and (4) propose new directions for investigation and innovation. Materials and Methods: Mixed methods including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and site visits with stakeholders at leading academic medical centers. Thematic analyses to inform development of an explanatory model and recommendations. Results: Site surveys were administered to 5 institutions. Thirty interviews/focus groups were conducted at 4 site visits that included a total of 84 participants. Ten themes regarding content and functionality, engagement and culture, and access and security were identified, from which an explanatory model of current practices was developed. Key features included clinical data, messaging, glossary, patient education, patient personalization and family engagement tools, and tiered displays. Four actionable recommendations were identified by group consensus. Discussion: Design, development, and implementation of acute care patient portals should consider: (1) providing a single integrated experience across care settings, (2) humanizing the patient-clinician relationship via personalization tools, (3) providing equitable access, and (4) creating a clear organizational mission and strategy to achieve outcomes of interest. Conclusion: Portals should provide a single integrated experience across the inpatient and ambulatory settings. Core functionality includes tools that facilitate communication, personalize the patient, and deliver education to advance safe, coordinated, and dignified patient-centered care. Our findings can be used to inform a “road map” for future work related to acute care patient portals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document