The value of a Patient Access Portal in primary care: a cross-sectional survey of 62,486 registered users in the UK
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LONG PAPER
The value of a Patient Access Portal in primary care: a cross‑sectional survey of 62,486 registered users in the UK Mohammed A. Mohammed1,2 · Jane Montague1 · Muhammad Faisal1,3 · Laura Lamming1
© The Author(s) 2019
Abstract In England, primary care patients have access to Patient Access Portals (PAPs), enabling them to book appointments, request repeat medication prescriptions, send/receive messages and review their medical records. Few studies have elicited user views and value of PAPs, especially in a publicly funded primary care setting. This study aimed to elicit the value users of PAPs place on online access to medical records and linked services. Secondary data analysis of the completed electronic survey (available 2 May 2015–27 June 2015) distributed via the EMIS PAP to all its registered users. EMIS designed the survey; responses were voluntary. There were 62,486 responders (95.7% self-completed). The PAP was mainly used for medication requests (86.3%) and online appointment bookings (78.4%), and, to a lesser extent, medical record viewing (18.3%) and messaging (9.5%). The majority (70%) reported a positive impact from using it. One in five rated it as their favourite online service second only to online banking. Almost three out of four responders stated that availability of online access would influence their move to another practice. Nonetheless, responders were reluctant to award a high monetary value to it. These findings correlated with the number of long-term conditions. The majority of users place a relatively high value, but not monetary value, on the PAP and report a positive impact from using it. The potential for PAPs to enhance patient experience, especially for those with long-term conditions, appears to be largely untapped. Research exploring the reasons for non-use is also required.
1 Background People across the globe use technology to conduct many essential and daily functions such as banking, shopping, social networking and information gathering. Increasingly, policy directives and technological innovation are also facilitating online engagement between patients and healthcare
* Mohammed A. Mohammed [email protected] Jane Montague [email protected] Muhammad Faisal [email protected] Laura Lamming [email protected] 1
Faculty of Health Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
2
The Strategy Unit, NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, Leyland, UK
3
Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford, UK
providers [1]. Patients are also demanding greater access to their own healthcare data [2]. Typically, this involves using a Patient Access Portal (PAP) that enables patients and/or carers to book appointments, make medication requests, view their medical records and send messages [3]. In the USA, two-thirds of Kaiser Permanente’s 3.4 million members have signed up for online appointment booking, email communication and test results retrieval [4, 5]. Similarly, 600,000 members of the USA’s Veterans He
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