Patient Access to Online Radiology Reports: Frequency and Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated with Use.
Our objective was to evaluate the frequency with which patients viewed their online radiology reports in relation to clinical and laboratory notes and identify sociodemographic factors associated with report viewing.



We conducted a cross-sectional study of 129,419 patients who had online patient portal access in our large health system in 2014. We determined whether patients viewed their radiology reports, laboratory reports, and clinical notes. We also collected patient sociodemographic information including gender, age, primary spoken language, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. We performed multivariate analyses to determine significant associations between viewing of radiology reports and viewing of other types of clinical reports and patient characteristics.



Of 61,131 patients with at least one radiology report available, 31,308 (51.2%) viewed them. Patients who also viewed laboratory reports or clinical notes were significantly more likely to view their radiology reports (P < 0.001). Women (56.2%), patients 25-39 years old (59.5%), and English speakers (53.6%) were most likely to view radiology reports. In multivariate analysis, Asian-Americans were more likely and African-Americans were less likely to view their radiology reports compared to whites (OR = 1.07 and OR = 0.39, respectively; P < 0.001 for both). Patients with Medicaid were less likely to view radiology reports compared to patients with commercial insurance (OR = 0.38, P < 0.001).



More than half of patients with access to online radiology reports viewed them, with higher viewing rates associated with viewing other types of reports and lower rates associated with characteristics of traditionally underserved patient populations.
Department of Radiology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612.
Randy C
RC
Miles
Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98105.
Daniel S
DS
Hippe
Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98104-2499.
Joann G
JG
Elmore
Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 825 Eastlake Avenue East, G3-200, Seattle, WA, 98109-1023.
Carolyn L
CL
Wang
Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98104-2499.
Thomas H
TH
Payne
Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 825 Eastlake Avenue East, G3-200, Seattle, WA, 98109-1023; Department of Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health, 825 Eastlake Avenue East, G3-200, Seattle, WA, 98109-1023; Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, 825 Eastlake Avenue East, G3-200, Seattle, WA, 98109-1023. Electronic address: stophlee@uw.edu.
Christoph I
CI
Lee
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011871:Radiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
Web portal; electronic medical records; personal health records; radiology reports