A Survey on Perspectives of Diabetic Patients about the Use of Health Portals

Patient portals play an important role in the health care management, especially in chronic diseases, such as diabetes. The aim of this study is to examine the perspectives of diabetic patients on the use of health portals. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017. The statistical population included 145 diabetic patients referring to a diabetes center in Mashhad for a four-month period. The data collection instrument was a valid and reliable questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics in the SPSS v.16 software. In this study, the majority of participants were female (50.3%). The mean age of the participants was 40 years. The results showed that 70.3% of the patients agreed with the role of health portals in facilitating the communication between physician and patient. Moreover, 67.6% of patients agreed with the usefulness of the diabetes portal and 64.1% of them agreed with its appropriateness as a substitute for the patient interaction with the health care provider. In the present study, the most important expectations of diabetic patients of the health portal included prescription rewrite by the physician without the presence of the patient, assessment of the laboratory tests results and patient self-assessment of the health status. Patient involvement in the health care will have a significant impact on the improved quality of the care, and health portals can play a crucial role in this regard. Furthermore, if patients are expected to participate in their treatment process, more information about their attitudes, needs, experiences, and awareness of the health portals is needed.