Patient portals, or personal health records, provide patients with secure online access to their medical records.
Many also offer interactive features, such as appointments, prescription reordering and uploading information from personal tracking devices.
There are three main types of patient portal:
Patient portals allow people to self-service and research their own health issues.
They are part of a growing global trend towards patient engagement and activation, helping people to participate in their own health decision making.
“They are part of a growing global trend towards patient engagement and activation, helping people to participate in their own health decision making.”
Kirsten Beasley | Willis Towers Watson
Many countries have been encouraging patients to access their health records with the aim of:
Because of their role in engaging patients with their healthcare, patient portals are often seen as tools to help reduce health inequality. For example, they can help people who might have limited access to hospital-based healthcare to manage their conditions at home.
However, patient portals could exacerbate or create disparities if they are not designed and implemented in ways that take account of digital determinants of health in the entire patient population, particularly among disadvantaged and vulnerable people.
Digital determinants of health are factors that can affect access to digital healthcare and patient outcomes, including:
COVID-19’s impact on socially disadvantaged groups has highlighted potential health disparities in many countries.
“COVID-19’s impact on socially disadvantaged groups has highlighted potential health disparities in many countries.”
Kirsten Beasley | Willis Towers Watson
With digitisation accelerating, there is likely to be more discussion around the ethics of digital health which could include an examination of possible health inequalities.
In this context, the design, implementation, or use of patient portals could come to be regarded as discriminatory if they have the effect of excluding or disadvantaging particular groups.
Currently, there are no specific regulations regarding digital health equity.
However, the right to health and the foundational components of non-discrimination and equity are enshrined in international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR).
Regulatory frameworks in major markets include:
U.S.
UK
Europe
Australia
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| Title | File Type | File Size |
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| Patient portals: what are the health equity considerations? | .2 MB |
