A recent ONC data brief showed that 52 percent of patients have patient portal access, although fewer patients are using the tools.
Patient access to health data is continuously increasing, but there is still more opportunity for medical professionals to encourage better patient engagement with their own health data, according to a new ONC data brief about patient technology use.
The data brief used information from the National Cancer Institute’s 2017 Health Information Trends Survey. The ONC researchers looked at patient EHR use trends, patient portal uptake, digital health and mHealth adoption, and use of wearable mHealth technology.
The analysis showed that patient engagement with health technology has increased from previous years. Fifty-two percent of patients were offered access to their medical records in 2017, which is up from 42 percent of patients in 2014, the data showed. Over half of the patients offered patient portal access viewed their own medical records, which translates to 28 percent of the total survey population. Twenty-four percent of patients did not view their online medical records, even after being granted access to them. Reasons for not viewing patient health records included:
- Wanting to speak with providers in person (76)
- Limited perceived need to view medical records (59 percent)
- Privacy concerns (25 percent)
- No avenue to access the website (20 percent)
- No longer having an online medical record (19 percent)
Continue reading to learn how to encourage better patient engagement.
