When it comes to patients accessing their health records through patient portals, not all socioeconomic or demographic groups access them at equal rates. A study in the American Journal of Managed Care found Hispanic patients and lower income patients were less likely to access their records via patient portals than black patients and white patients.
Researchers analyzed responses to the Empire State Poll, a survey of approximately 900 New York state residents seeking information on attitudes about healthcare services, including health IT. Researchers looked at responses for the poll each year from 2012 to 2015 for the study.
They found the percent of New Yorkers who reported using a personal health record rose from 11 percent in 2012 to 27 percent in 2015. In the 2012 survey, researchers noted just 4.3 percent of black respondents indicated using a PHR, but that percent rose to nearly 24 percent in 2015. By then, the percentage of blacks using portals and PHRs was not significantly different from other races.
However, Hispanic respondents experienced the opposite effect. In 2012, Hispanic use of portals and PHRs was not significantly lower than non-Hispanics, at 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively. By 2015, though, Hispanics' adoption of PHRs lagged those of non-Hispanics, at 15.8 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
Differing trends were also noted among different income groups. The portal and PHR adoption rate among low-income respondents rose between 2012 and 2015 but at a much lower rate than higher-income respondents.
"Electronic patient portals and PHRs are anticipated to be an important tool for patient engagement in healthcare, and it is therefore important to determine whether they are reaching all patient populations," the authors wrote. "Measures that should be investigated include making these technologies accessible in multiple languages, designing for usability by individuals with low levels of computer expertise and ensuring access via mobile phone and web browsers."
More articles on health IT:
Bon Secours vendor breach affects 655k patients
Why one security expert gives Banner Health's handling of its breach a 'C-minus'
Physicians speak out against EHR 'shackles' in JAMA commentary