ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2011
Use of an electronic patient portal among disadvantaged populations.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 193 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
193 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Chatbot Artificial Intelligence for Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment and Counseling: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2023Pooled it
- Adherence to Electronic Health Tools Among Vulnerable Groups: Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Interventions to increase patient portal use in vulnerable populations: a systematic review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2019Pooled it
- Barriers, Facilitators, and Solutions to Optimal Patient Portal and Personal Health Record Use: A Systematic Review of the Literature.AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium · 2017Pooled it
- Importance of Prior Patient Interactions With the Healthcare System to Engaging With Pretest Cancer Genetic Services via Digital Health Tools Among Unaffected Primary Care Patients: Findings From the BRIDGE Trial.Health services research · 2026Trial
- Novel Web-Based Technology to Promote Goal-Setting in Complex Chronic Illness: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR human factors · 2026Trial
- Patient Portal Engagement in Oncology: Results From the NU IMPACT Study in a Large Health Care System.JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2025Trial
- Differences by Race in Outcomes of an In-Person Training Intervention on Use of an Inpatient Portal: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Effect of Electronic Outreach Using Patient Portal Messages on Well Child Care Visit Completion: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Patient Portal Usage and Outcomes Among Adult Patients with Uncontrolled Asthma.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice · 2020Trial
- Activation of persons living with HIV for treatment, the great study.BMC public health · 2015Trial
- Parents' Use of Technologies for Health Management: A Health Literacy Perspective.Academic pediatricsTrial
- Identifying trajectories across care modalities before and after COVID-19 using sequence analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Identifying Skill and Usability Barriers to Digital Health Tool Use Among Older Adult Patients in US Safety Net Clinics: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Enduring Power of Print: How Health Information Pamphlets Promote Equity and Trust in Patient Education.JCO oncology practice · 2026Article
- Accessing Patient Portals: Some Patients Want a Helping Hand.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic Factors Associated with the Utilization of Digital Health Technologies Among Informal Caregivers: A Nationwide Study in the USA, 2022.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Optimizing Digital Health Tools for Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake in Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers: Insights From the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and Technology Acceptance Model.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Trajectories of In-Person and Remote Care Utilization: A Sequence Analysis of Primary Care Modalities Pre- and Post-COVID-19.Research square · 2025Article
- A description of the development and initial evaluation of a patient navigator delivered patient portal enrollment program.Patient education and counseling · 2025Article
133 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundElectronic patient portals give patients access to information from their electronic health record and the ability to message their providers. These tools are becoming more widely used and are expected to promote patient engagement with health care.
objectiveTo quantify portal usage and explore potential differences in adoption and use according to patients' socioeconomic and clinical characteristics in a network of federally qualified health centers serving New York City and neighboring counties.
designRetrospective analysis of data from portal and electronic health records.
participants74,368 adult patients seen between April 2008 and April 2010. MAIN MEASURES: Odds of receiving an access code to the portal, activating the account, and using the portal more than once KEY
resultsOver the 2 years of the study, 16% of patients (n = 11,903) received an access code. Of these, 60% (n = 7138) activated the account, and 49% (n = 5791) used the account two or more times. Patients with chronic conditions were more likely to receive an access code and to become repeat users. In addition, the odds of receiving an access code were significantly higher for whites, women, younger patients, English speakers, and the insured. The odds of repeat portal use, among those with activated accounts, increased with white race, English language, and private insurance or Medicaid compared to no insurance. Racial disparities were small but persisted in models that controlled for language, insurance, and health status.
conclusionsWe found good early rates of adoption and use of an electronic patient portal during the first 2 years of its deployment among a predominantly low-income population, especially among patients with chronic diseases. Disparities in access to and usage of the portal were evident but were smaller than those reported recently in other populations. Continued efforts will be needed to ensure that portals are usable for and used by disadvantaged groups so that all patients benefit equally from these technologies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.