Primary Health Care System
RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

SEED FUNDING REPORTS

Engaging patients in the development of a Personal Health Record (PHR) innovation to manage chronic conditions in primary health care: Exploration of patient perspectives
Principal investigator: Amardeep Thind
Co-principal investigator: Bridget L. Ryan
Co-investigators: Judith Belle Brown, Sonny Cejic, Moira Stewart, Amanda Terry

Background:
To date, patient portal development has occurred for the most part without the involvement of the key stakeholder, the patient. The main thrust of this study is that the evolution of patient portals must include this essential perspective. The goal of the study was to identify patient and provider views concerning if and how portals might being used in care and how portals should be implemented.

Methods:
Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of seven patients and four providers drawn from a primary health care clinic in London, Ontario.

Findings:
There was convergence between patients’ and providers’ views with a generally positive view of patient portals. Three main themes arose.

1. The first concerned necessary conditions for portal use including: ease of use; accessibility; workload; security; guidelines/customization; and the primacy of the patient-provider relationship.
2. The second was how to implement a portal successfully with an emphasis on a measured incremental approach.
3. The third was specific functions that participants identified as valuable with two sub-themes: 1) mechanisms that allow patients to see more information is good; and 2) using portals should be a two-way communication between patients and providers.

Conclusions:
Patients and providers had an overall positive impression of patient portals. Patients value accessing information through a portal as an end in itself. Concerns such as security and ease of use were acknowledged but not seen as insurmountable barriers. Participants did not see portals as a threat to the patient-provider relationship but as an enhancement to care that could supplement but not replace in-person visits.

Key Messages:
Patients and providers had an overall positive impression of the potential benefits of patient portals. Patients value having information about their own health as an end in itself and see portals as a mechanism to obtain this information.

Concerns such as security and ease of use were acknowledged but not seen as insurmountable barriers. Patients and providers did not differ substantially in their views of benefits and concerns. Participants did not see portals as a threat to the patient-provider relationship but saw them as an enhancement to care that could supplement but not replace in-person visits.

For further information please contact:
Bridget Ryan bryan@uwo.ca

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