SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2021
The Impact of Digital Patient Portals on Health Outcomes, System Efficiency, and Patient Attitudes: Updated Systematic Literature Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 153 papers, 3 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
153 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Sociodemographic and Socioeconomic Determinants for the Usage of Digital Patient Portals in Hospitals: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Digital Divide.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Rewiring care delivery through Digital Therapeutics (DTx): a machine learning-enhanced assessment and development (M-LEAD) framework.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of First-of-Its-Kind Patient-Facing Pharmacogenetics Tool on Dosing Decisions and Treatment Outcomes.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2025Trial
- A pilot randomized controlled trial of an outreach intervention to improve depression treatment initiation among racial and ethnic groups.General hospital psychiatryTrial
- Patient-reported outcomes in radiotherapy (PRO-RT) utilizing an integrated patient portal; results from a prospective single-arm trial.JAMIA open · 2026Article
- Telemedical communication patterns in myasthenia gravis in a remote monitoring study.Neurological research and practice · 2026Article
- Patient Portal Adoption Barriers in a Safety-Net Clinic: A Mixed-Methods Study With National Comparison.The Permanente journal · 2026Article
- Accessing Germany's Electronic Patient Record Through Health Insurer-Provided Apps: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Digital Health Revolution in Saudi Arabia: A Narrative Review of Healthcare Transformation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Patient Communication Outside of Visits: Implications for Remote Monitoring and Digital Care Models in Myasthenia Gravis.Muscle & nerve · 2026Article
- Development of the E-Nabız Usage Behavior Scale: Validity and Reliability Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Patient Portal Use and Care Utilization Among Hospitalized Children.Hospital pediatrics · 2026Article
- Patient Portal Activation Disparities by Ward, Census Tract, and Zip Code in an Urban Landscape Among Neurology Patients: Cross-Sectional Multi-Scale Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Public Reporting Systems in Health Care and the Underconceptualized Technical Substrate, a Core Information Systems Dimension: Scoping Review.JMIR medical informatics · 2026Article
- Impact of Patient Portals on Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-Related Quality-of-Care Outcomes: Systematic Review.Online journal of public health informatics · 2026Review
- Adaptation of Social Health Care Tools From Paper-Based to Web-Based Formats: Scoping Review.Online journal of public health informatics · 2026Review
- [Before the examination: digital check-in].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Using the CFIR 2.0 Framework to Assess the Implementation of GARDE: A Population Health Management Tool for Hereditary Cancer Risk.Research square · 2026Article
- Digital Outpatient Care for Patients With Type 1 Diabetes (DigiDiaS): Pragmatic Observational Pre-Post Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Observational
93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatient portals are becoming increasingly popular worldwide even though their impact on individual health and health system efficiency is still unclear.
objectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to summarize evidence on the impact of patient portals on health outcomes and health care efficiency, and to examine user characteristics, attitudes, and satisfaction.
methodsWe searched the PubMed and Web of Science databases for articles published from January 1, 2013, to October 31, 2019. Eligible studies were primary studies reporting on the impact of patient portal adoption in relation to health outcomes, health care efficiency, and patient attitudes and satisfaction. We excluded studies where portals were not accessible for patients and pilot studies, with the exception of articles evaluating patient attitudes.
resultsOverall, 3456 records were screened, and 47 articles were included. Among them, 11 studies addressed health outcomes reporting positive results, such as better monitoring of health status, improved patient-doctor interaction, and improved quality of care. Fifteen studies evaluated the impact of digital patient portals on the utilization of health services with mixed results. Patient characteristics were described in 32 studies, and it was reported that the utilization rate usually increases with age and female gender. Finally, 30 studies described attitudes and defined the main barriers (concerns about privacy and data security, and lack of time) and facilitators (access to clinical data and laboratory results) to the use of a portal.
conclusionsEvidence regarding health outcomes is generally favorable, and patient portals have the potential to enhance the doctor-patient relationship, improve health status awareness, and increase adherence to therapy. It is still unclear whether the use of patient portals improves health service utilization and efficiency.
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.