Keywords

Clinical informatics, Diabetes, Patient portal

 

Authors

  1. SHAW, RYAN J. MS, RN
  2. FERRANTI, JEFFREY MD, MS

Abstract

An important emerging information technology tool is the electronic health record with a patient-provider Internet portal. Patient-provider Internet portals offer a venue for providing patient access to personal health data. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional secondary data analysis to describe the types of diabetes patients who utilize the patient-provider Internet portal and examine any preliminary differences in patient outcomes. Data from this study suggest that a significant portion of patients (29.7%) with diabetes utilize the portal. Clinical outcome results indicated that portal use was not a significant predictor of low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels. However, portal use was a statistically significant predictor of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (P < .001). As patient-provider Internet portals are increasingly implemented and utilized across the nation, both clinical and nonclinical impacts must be evaluated. Patient-provider Internet portals have the ability to provide patients with the opportunity tobe increasingly involved in their own care,enhance patient-provider communication, and potentially reduce inequity, improve clinical outcomes, and increase access to care.