Patient portal use is on the rise, as more patients access their medical information online, increasingly through apps, HHS reported.
Here are six things to know about patient portal adoption, according to the July report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/ONC:
1. In 2024, 65% of individuals nationwide accessed their online medical records or patient portal, up from 25% in 2014.
2. Proxy or caregiver access to patient portals more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, from 24% to 51%.
3. App-based access to online health records rose from 38% in 2020 to 57% in 2024, while web-based use decreased from 60% in 2020 to 42% in 2024.
4. While 59% of individuals nationally had multiple online medical records or patient portals in 2024, only 7% said they used a portal-organizing app to combine them.
5. In 2024, 76% of individuals with a recent cancer diagnosis accessed their online medical records or patient portal.
6. In 2024, 87% of individuals encouraged by their healthcare provider to access their medical records online used their patient portal at least once in the past year, compared to 57% who weren’t encouraged. They were also more likely to view test results and clinical notes online.
