Prevalence, Factors, and Association of Electronic Communication Use With Patient-Perceived Quality of Care From the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey 5-Cycle 3: Exploratory Study

BACKGROUND: Electronic communication (e-communication), referring to communication through electronic platforms such as the web, patient portal, or mobile phone, has become increasingly important, as it extends traditional in-person communication with fewer limitations of timing and locations. However, little is known about the current status of patients’ use of e-communication with clinicians and whether the use is related to the better patient-perceived quality of care at the population level. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of and the factors associated with e-communication use and the association of e-communication use with patient-perceived quality of care by using the nationally representative sample of the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (HINTS 5)-Cycle 3. METHODS: Data from 5438 adult responders (mean age 49.04 years, range 18-98 years) were included in this analysis. Multiple logistic and linear regressions were conducted to explore responders’ personal characteristics related to their use of e-communication with clinicians in the past 12 months and how their use was related to perceived quality of care. Descriptive analyses for e-communication use according to age groups were also performed. All analyses considered the complex survey design using the jackknife replication method. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of e-communication use was 60.3%, with a significantly lower prevalence in older adults (16.6%) than that in <45-year-old adults (41%) and 45-65-year-old adults (42.4%). All percentages are weighted; therefore, absolute values are not shown. American adults who used e-communication were more likely to be high school graduates (odds ratio [OR] 1.95, 95% CI 1.14-3.34; P=.02), some college degree holders (OR 3.34, 95% CI 1.84-6.05; P<.001), and college graduates or more (OR 4.89, 95% CI 2.67-8.95; P<.001). Further, people who were females (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.18-1.82; P=.001), with a household income ≥US $50,000 (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.23-2.16; P=.001), with more comorbidities (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07-1.40; P=.004), or having a regular health care provider (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.98-3.47; P<.001), were more likely to use e-communication. In contrast, those who resided in rural areas (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.88; P=.009) were less likely to use e-communication. After controlling for the sociodemographics, the number of comorbidities, and relationship factors (ie, having a regular provider and trusting a doctor), e-communication use was found to be significantly associated with better perceived quality of care (β=.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.22; P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the positive association between e-communication use and patient-perceived quality of care and suggested that policy-level attention should be raised to engage the socially disadvantaged (ie, those with lower levels of education and income, without a regular health care provider, and living in rural areas) to maximize e-communication use and to support better patient-perceived quality of care among American adults.