Patient Portal Readiness (PPR) among the Underserved: Impact of PHIM Activities, Health Information Seeking, and Patient Attitudes towards Record Keeping

Abstract

Patient portals are increasingly becoming a solution for healthcare providers to provide patients with access to parts of their medical records such as lab results as well as to offer services such as customized educational materials, appointment scheduling, etc. However, the use of patient portals is still very low [1] especially among the underserved population. The objective of this study is to develop an understanding of the factors that may impact patient portal readiness among the underserved population. We consider three main factors that will impact Patient Portal Readiness (PPR): (a) PHIM (Personal Health Information Management) activities; (b) attitude towards keeping personal health record, and (c) access to and use of Internet for health information seeking. Findings from a survey of 132 patients of free clinics in northern Virginia support the study hypotheses related to the impact of the above three factors on PPR. Implications for research and practice are discussed. . 1530-1605/15 $31.00

Consumer Health Informatics Adoption among Underserved Populations: Thinking beyond the Digital Divide

“…Studies published in the past 5 years shows a lag in CHI adoption among the underserved when compared to the general public. Additionally, our results further show that a digital divide persists 50 51 52 53 . At the same time, increased mobile technology adoption by underserved populations has slowly changed the state and nature of the digital divide 9 54 .…”

Personal Health Information Management in Chronic Illnesses

“…For example, Pratt et al (2006), Civan et al (2006), and Ancker et al (2015) pointed to the importance of this field and mainly explored information collection and use activities. Other studies examined the information items (e.g., Whetstone, 2013), the volume of PHIM activities in relation to clinical information technologies (e.g., Nambisan, 2015), and the information technologies designed to support PHIM processes (e.g., Almalki, Gray, & Sanchez, 2015;Lucero et al, 2012;Piras & Zanutto, 2011). However, more research is necessary to establish a comprehensive model for PHIM and inquire the relationships between the diverse PHIM processes.…”