Abstract
Background: Patients with vascular anomalies (VAs) experience
poor communication and have unmet information needs. Online patient
portals could mitigate communication barriers and support communication
interventions. However, these portals are often underutilized.
Procedure: We retrospectively queried audit-log data from the
Electronic Health Record (EHR) of a single large academic healthcare
center for all patients seen by clinicians from a multidisciplinary
specialist clinic with a diagnosed VA from 1/2020 to 1/2024. We
connected audit-log data with patient demographics to examine how
patients used the portal, and whether use varied by patient
characteristics. Results: We queried portal usage for 315
patients with vascular anomalies, of whom 43% were children, 19% were
adolescents, and 38% were adults. Approximately half of patients’
portals were logged into during the study period (51%, n=162). Of users
who ever logged into the portal, the median number of logins per year
were 35 (interquartile range 15 to 95). Multiple regression results show
that portal access was higher for patients who are White, reside in a
metropolitan area, and have lower Area Deprivation Index. Of users who
ever logged into the portal, 77% viewed clinician notes, 90% viewed
test results, and 71% engaged in messaging with a clinician at least
once. Conclusion: Half of patients and caregivers never use the
portal, and patients from less urban areas with higher deprivation are
even less likely to use the portal. As portals become more integrated
into patient care, these inequities in portal access could lead to
inequities in health outcomes.