University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
Title
Potential of Personal Health Record Portals in the Care of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders: Provider Perspectives
UMMS Affiliation
Division of Health Informatics and Implementation Science, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
Publication Date
2017-03-21
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Health Information Technology | Health Services Administration | Nervous System | Nervous System Diseases
Abstract
CONTEXT/OBJECTIVE: Although personal health record (PHR) portals are designed for patients, healthcare providers are a key influence in how patients use their features and realize benefits from them. A few studies have examined provider attitudes toward PHR portals, but none have focused on those who care for individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). We characterize SCI/D provider perspectives of PHR portals, including perceived advantages and disadvantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional; semi-structured interviews Setting: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Centers in the Veterans Health Administration Participants: Twenty-six SCI/D healthcare providers Interventions: None Outcome Measures: Perceived advantages and disadvantages of PHR portals Results: The complex situations of individuals with SCI/D shaped provider perspectives of PHR portals and their potential role in practice. Perceived advantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care included the ability to coordinate information and care, monitor and respond to outpatient requests, support patient self-management activities, and provide reliable health information to patients. Perceived disadvantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care included concerns about the quality of patient-generated health data, other potential liabilities for providers and workload burden, and the ability of individuals with SCI/D to understand clinical information accessed through a portal.
CONCLUSION: Our study highlights advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when promoting engagement of SCI/D healthcare providers in use of PHR portals, and portal features that may have the most utility in SCI/D care.
Keywords
Patient portals, Personal health records, Provider attitudes, Spinal cord injury
DOI of Published Version
10.1080/10790268.2017.1293760
Source
J Spinal Cord Med. 2017 Mar 21:1-11. doi: 10.1080/10790268.2017.1293760. [Epub ahead of print] Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
Journal/Book/Conference Title
The journal of spinal cord medicine
PubMed ID
28325112
Repository Citation
Hill, Jennifer N.; Smith, Bridget M.; Weaver, Frances M.; Nazi, Kim M.; Thomas, Florian P.; Goldstein, Barry; and Hogan, Timothy P., "Potential of Personal Health Record Portals in the Care of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders: Provider Perspectives" (2017). University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. 1417.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/1417