Patient Portal Activation and Use in Hospitalized Children at an Academic Medical Center

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Electronic health records are becoming increasingly common tools for storing and sharing patient health information. Many vendors offer patient “portals” as a way for patients and/or proxies to view test results and communicate with their health care teams. Few researchers have looked at patient portals in the inpatient pediatric population. Our objectives were to describe portal activation and use and factors associated with these end points for hospitalized children. METHODS: Retrospective, single-center study of pediatric patients birth through 17 years old who had at least one hospital admission and one or more inpatient diagnostic test performed between January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018. Portal use was defined as viewing one or more test result. Multivariate logistic regression analyzed the association between patient characteristics and portal account activation and use. RESULTS: A total of 5862 patients with 170 685 diagnostic test results were included. A total of 40.9% of patients had an activated account, and 20.3% viewed one or more test result. Factors associated with an increased odds of portal activation and/or use included English as preferred language, white race, commercial insurance, multiple admissions, previous outpatient testing, and having both laboratory and imaging inpatient studies performed. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we highlight the underuse of the patient portal in the inpatient pediatric population, especially for patients whose preferred language is not English, self-identify as multiracial and are publicly insured or uninsured. Concerted efforts to eliminate health care disparities in relation to portal activation are needed.