Pharmacy Customers’ Experiences of Use, Usability, and Satisfaction of a Nationwide Patient Portal: Survey Study

Abstract

Background Patient portals have been introduced in several countries in the last few decades. Despite worldwide objectives of introducing patient portals, nationwide portals are rare, and studies about their use are limited. Finland is one of the forerunners in developing nationwide health data systems. A nationwide patient portal, My Kanta, for viewing electronic prescriptions and health data has been phased in, starting in 2010. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate what functions Finnish pharmacy customers use in My Kanta, their perceptions of the service’s usability, and how satisfied users are with My Kanta overall. Methods In spring 2019, questionnaires (N=2866) were distributed from 18 pharmacies of varying size across mainland Finland to adult pharmacy customers purchasing prescription medications for themselves or for their child under 18 years of age. Questions were asked about the use and usability of the patient portal by means of structured and Likert-scale questions. Statistical analyses included frequencies, means, medians, chi-square tests, Fisher exact tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results In total, 994 completed questionnaires of 2866 delivered questionnaires (34.68%) were returned. The most-used My Kanta functions were browsing prescription information (781/802, 97.4%), records of health care visits (772/802, 96.3%), and results of laboratory tests and x-ray examinations (722/804, 89.8%). Most users (558/793, 70.4%) had also requested a prescription renewal using the service. My Kanta was perceived as easy to log into (772/816, 94.6%) and clear to view (709/808, 87.7%). Most users considered the service useful for monitoring their health information (753/813, 92.6%) and felt that it provides a good overall picture of the medications prescribed to them (711/813, 87.5%). The majority of users found the information recorded about them easy to understand (684/800, 85.5%). Of the users, 16.7% (135/807) disagreed with the statement that the information they were looking for was easy to find. Approximately two-thirds (501/814, 61.5%) of users did not know whether it is easy to view in which pharmacies and health care units their prescription information has been viewed, and over one-third (306/805, 38.0%) did not know whether it is easy to view in which health care units their health information has been processed. Approximately one-fifth of participants (181/805, 22.5%) feared that unauthorized persons might view their information and that their electronically saved prescription and health information might disappear (180/810, 22.2%). In addition, 16.1% (129/799) expressed interest in receiving guidance on My Kanta use. The vast majority of users (719/804, 89.4%) were satisfied with the service overall. Conclusions Pharmacy customers were satisfied with the nationwide patient portal. It was mostly used for browsing e-prescriptions and medical records. Overall, the usability of the service was good. However, users need to be better informed about data privacy and security issues, and guidance on using the portal needs to be improved.

Benefits, Problems, and Potential Improvements in a Nationwide Patient Portal: Cross-sectional Survey of Pharmacy Customers’ Experiences

“…However, as the wishes for easier use of the portal and more guidance were mentioned in many responses and as some users reported they were unaware of the content of My Kanta, it can be assumed that this information and guidance have not reached all citizens. A wish for further guidance on My Kanta use was also reported in a previous study [16]. As suggested in this study, it may be necessary to provide face-to-face guidance or a manual.…”

“…Users also stated that some data were difficult to find in My Kanta. This was also highlighted in a previous study that investigated My Kanta usability [16]. In this study, many suggestions were made to make searching for information easier, for example, organizing data in the portal in different ways.…”

“…The My Kanta functions rated most beneficial, that is, viewing health data and prescriptions and renewing prescriptions, are also the most widely used [ 16 ]. According to a study conducted in 2014 among the Finnish population on the use of electronic services in health care, respondents said that in the future, they would like to have access to their laboratory test results, health records, and prescriptions, and an opportunity to submit renewal requests [ 24 ].…”

“…My Kanta also provides an opportunity to view in which health care units or pharmacies the user's own data have been browsed or processed. We have reported a more detailed description of My Kanta and the Finnish e-prescription system in a previous study [16]. • Acting on behalf of dependents (at the time of the study, this refers to dependents aged <10 years.…”

“…This study is part of a larger research project studying My Kanta use for viewing and monitoring health and prescription information from the patients’ perspective. We have previously reported on the use of different functions and the usability of the service surveyed by means of structured questions and have investigated the factors related to the use and nonuse of the service [ 16 , 19 ].…”