Role of provider encouragement on patient engagement via online portals

The study sought to examine whether provider encouragement is associated with improvements in engaging patients with their healthcare processes using online portals. Using the Health Information National Trends Survey 2017 (N = 2, 670), we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation and derived 3 outcome variables on patient engagement: (1) information access score, (2) care convenience score, and (3) patient engagement score. Multivariable linear regression on each outcome variable was conducted with provider encouragement as the main predictor, controlling for patient demographics. Women (60%), white participants (69%), and those with a college degree (49%) were more likely to report receiving provider encouragement. Those who were encouraged to use patient portals scored higher on all 3 outcome measures compared with those who were not encouraged (B = 0 .80 vs B = 0.11 for information access, B = 1.13 vs B = 0.13 for care convenience, and B = 0.44 vs B = 0.05 for patient engagement; all P