digital-health
Will older adults with many conditions use a patient portal?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 24 older adults with MCC, Kaiser’s My Health Manager felt useful for email/pharmacy/labs, but log-in and UI hurdles limited intent to use some features.
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Will older adults with many conditions use a patient portal?
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24 older patients with MCC participated; mean age 78.41 (SD 5.4).
Older patients (N=24; mean 78.41 (SD 5.4) years) with MCC participated in focus groups.
Two coders led TAM-based thematic analysis.
A total of 2 coders led the theoretically driven analysis based on the TAM to determine themes related to use behavior, portal usefulness and ease of use, and intent to use.
Key findings
Common uses were email, pharmacy, and lab results. The portal was often described as easy, simple, and quick, yet log-ins, color/font design, and specific features reduced intent to use. Participants said the portal improved communication, saved time/money, and supplied relevant health information—and they intended to use features that felt both useful and easy.
Methodology
Ran stratified-random focus groups of older Kaiser Colorado patients with MCC, combining discussion and think-aloud tasks on My Health Manager, then coded transcripts with the Technology Acceptance Model (usefulness, ease of use, intent, use behavior).
Limitations
Single-system qualitative sample of 24 cannot estimate adoption rates or prove that UI fixes will raise use across health systems.
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