Portals And Improved Patient Outcomes
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Study finds an increase in medication adherence for patients using online portals
A Kaiser Permanente study, published in the Journal of Medical Care, found patient portal use has a correlation to medication adherence. Researchers studied diabetic patients and their use of statin drugs to determine if there was a connection, especially when the refill function was used. Subjects included, “Diabetic patients on statins who had registered for online portal access by 2010. A total of 8,705 subjects initiated the online refill function use within the study window, including ‘exclusive’ and ‘occasional’ users.”
Researchers found patients with diabetes who used an online patient portal to refill medications not only increased their medication adherence, but also improved their cholesterol levels. The portal allowed subjects to schedule appointments, access their health records, view their lab test results, and email their care providers in addition to ordering prescription refills. The study concluded, “Medication non-adherence and poorly controlled cholesterol declined by six percent among exclusive users compared to the occasional users or non-users of the online refill function.”
"Medication adherence and other health behaviors are often the hardest things for a healthcare system to influence," said senior author Andrew J. Karter, PhD, research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, in a press release. "Offering patients the option of ordering prescription refills online may create efficiencies for pharmacy operations, convenience for patients, and also improvements in adherence and health."
"This research is an important step in understanding the benefits of portals beyond convenience," said lead author Urmimala Sarkar, MD, an assistant professor at University of California San Francisco. "Given the clear connection between medication adherence and improved health outcomes, this study provides insight into how online portals may improve health outcomes."
Fierce Health IT, however, writes, “When the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reviewed 46 different studies of patient portals, it concluded that it's still unknown whether the portals actually improve outcomes, increase patient satisfaction or create efficiencies.”
Fierce Health IT further notes, “In an opinion piece at the Journal of the American Medical Association, authors from the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School argue that portals' many benefits aren't available to caregivers and care partners - those who help patients navigate the health system. They say technology and policies on authentication can be put in place to ensure privacy and security of the information while granting patient-only access or access to those whom the patient designates.”
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