Patient and provider perspectives on the potential value and use of a bilingual online patient portal in a Spanish-speaking safety-net population

Objective To assess patient and provider perspectives on the potential value and use of a bilingual patient portal in a large safety-net health system serving predominantly Spanish-speaking patients. Materials and Methods We captured patient and provider perspectives through the administration of surveys to assess Internet access, barriers, and facilitators to patient portal adoption, along with portal preferences. We report on these survey results using descriptive and comparative statistics. Results Four hundred patients (82% response rate) and 59 providers (80% response rate) participated in the study. Although 73% of providers believed that the patient portal would increase patient satisfaction, just 39% planned to recommend portal use to patients, citing concerns related to time and reimbursement. In contrast, 72% of patients believed the patient portal would strengthen the patient-provider relationship and 77% believed it would improve the quality of care. Latino patients in particular believed the patient portal would strengthen the patient-provider relationship. Seventy-five percent of patients reported interest in a mobile version of the portal. Discussion Patients from a safety-net health system, most of whom were Spanish-speaking, reported a high level of interest in the patient portal. Providers at the same health system expressed reluctance about the portal due to concerns related to time and reimbursement. Conclusion Bilingual patient portal implementation has considerable potential to promote health care engagement within Spanish-speaking safety-net populations; however, lack of provider engagement in the process could undermine the effort.