title: Acute care patient portals: a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives on current practices.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe current practices and stakeholder perspectives of patient portals in the acute care setting. We aimed to: (1) identify key features, (2) recognize challenges, (3) understand current practices for design, configuration, and use, and (4) propose new directions for investigation and innovation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mixed methods including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and site visits with stakeholders at leading academic medical centers. Thematic analyses to inform development of an explanatory model and recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Site surveys were administered to 5 institutions. Thirty interviews/focus groups were conducted at 4 site visits that included a total of 84 participants. Ten themes regarding content and functionality, engagement and culture, and access and security were identified, from which an explanatory model of current practices was developed. Key features included clinical data, messaging, glossary, patient education, patient personalization and family engagement tools, and tiered displays. Four actionable recommendations were identified by group consensus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Design, development, and implementation of acute care patient portals should consider: (1) providing a single integrated experience across care settings, (2) humanizing the patient-clinician relationship via personalization tools, (3) providing equitable access, and (4) creating a clear organizational mission and strategy to achieve outcomes of interest.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Portals should provide a single integrated experience across the inpatient and ambulatory settings. Core functionality includes tools that facilitate communication, personalize the patient, and deliver education to advance safe, coordinated, and dignified patient-centered care. Our findings can be used to inform a "road map" for future work related to acute care patient portals.
authors.affiliation: Partners Healthcare System, Wellesley, Massachusetts.|Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rozenblum
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Wai Yin
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Constance Rc
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Diana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stade
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.affiliation: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Patricia Q
authors.initials: PQ
authors.lastname: Bourie
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bokser
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Ryan S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Greysen
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Priyanka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Anuj K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dalal
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D016494:Computer Security; D017144:Focus Groups; D000073892:Health Information Interoperability; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D000072638:Patient Portals / Q000592:standards*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000592:standards; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D000073597:Stakeholder Participation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: acute care; patient engagement; patient portal; patient-centered care