%0 Journal Article
%@ 1438-8871
%I JMIR Publications
%V 22
%N 5
%P e17955
%T Effects of a Web-Based Patient Portal on Patient Satisfaction and Missed Appointment Rates: Survey Study
%A Graham,Timothy A D
%A Ali,Samina
%A Avdagovska,Melita
%A Ballermann,Mark
%+ School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 116 St & 85 Ave, Edmonton, AB, , Canada, 1 7803423464, tim.graham@ahs.ca
%K patient portal
%K patient satisfaction
%D 2020
%7 19.5.2020
%9 Original Paper
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: Although electronic medical record (EMR)-tethered patient portals are common in other countries, they are still emerging in Canada. Objective: We aimed to report user satisfaction and the effects of a patient portal on medical appointment attendance in a Canadian cohort of patients within our publicly funded health care system. Methods: Two surveys were deployed, via email, at 2 weeks and 6 months following the first recorded patient portal access. Database audits of visit attendance were used to supplement and cross reference survey data. Results: Between January 2016 and July 2018, 4296 patients accessed the patient portal. During the study, 28% (957/3421) consented patient portal users responded to one or more semistructured electronic surveys. Of respondents, 93% (891/957) reported that the patient portal was easy to use, 51% (492/975) reported it saved time when scheduling an appointment, and 40% (382/957) reported that they had to repeat themselves less during appointments. Respondents reported patient portal–related changes in health system use, with 48% (462/957) reporting avoiding a clinic visit and 2.7% (26/957) avoiding an emergency department visit. Across 19,968 visits in clinics where the patient portal was introduced, missed appointments were recorded in 9.5% (858/9021) of non–patient portal user visits, compared with 4.5% (493/9021) for patient portal users, representing a 53% relative reduction in no-show rates. Conclusions: Early experience with an EMR-tethered patient portal showed strong reports of positive patient experience, a self-reported decrease in health system use, and a measured decrease in missed appointment rates. Implications on the expanded use of patient portals requires more quantitative and qualitative study in Canada. 
%M 32427109
%R 10.2196/17955
%U http://www.jmir.org/2020/5/e17955/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/17955
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32427109