Examining How Internet Users Trust and Access Electronic Health Record Patient Portals: Survey Study

BACKGROUND: Electronic health record (EHR) patient portals are designed to provide medical health records to patients. Using an EHR portal is expected to contribute to positive health outcomes and facilitate patient-provider communication. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine how portal users report using their portals and the factors associated with obtaining health information from the internet. We also examined the desired portal features, factors impacting users’ trust in portals, and barriers to using portals. METHODS: An internet-based survey study was conducted using Amazon Mechanical Turk. All the participants were adults in the United States who used patient portals. The survey included questions about how the participants used their portals, what factors acted as barriers to using their portals, and how they used and how much they trusted other web-based health information sources as well as their portals. A logistic regression model was used to examine the factors influencing the participants’ trust in their portals. Additionally, the desired features and design characteristics were identified to support the design of future portals. RESULTS: A total of 394 participants completed the survey. Most of the participants were less than 35 years old (212/394, 53.8%), with 36.3% (143/394) aged between 35 and 55 years, and 9.9% (39/394) aged above 55 years. Women accounted for 48.5% (191/394) of the survey participants. More than 78% (307/394) of the participants reported using portals at least monthly. The most common portal features used were viewing lab results, making appointments, and paying bills. Participants reported some barriers to portal use including data security and limited access to the internet. The results of a logistic regression model used to predict the trust in their portals suggest that those comfortable using their portals (odds ratio [OR] 7.97, 95% CI 1.11-57.32) thought that their portals were easy to use (OR 7.4, 95% CI 1.12-48.84), and frequent internet users (OR 43.72, 95% CI 1.83-1046.43) were more likely to trust their portals. Participants reporting that the portals were important in managing their health (OR 28.13, 95% CI 5.31-148.85) and that their portals were a valuable part of their health care (OR 6.75, 95% CI 1.51-30.11) were also more likely to trust their portals. CONCLUSIONS: There are several factors that impact the trust of EHR patient portal users in their portals. Designing easily usable portals and considering these factors may be the most effective approach to improving trust in patient portals. The desired features and usability of portals are critical factors that contribute to users’ trust in EHR portals.