Patient portal use linked to improved adherence

Patients with diabetes who regularly refilled their prescriptions using Kaiser Permanente’s (KP’s) patient portal improved their medication adherence and lowered their cholesterol levels, according to a study published in Medical Care.

In the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers from KP and the University of California, San Francisco Medical followed a diverse sample of 17,760 patients with diabetes who received care from KP in Northern California between January 2006 and December 2010. All patients had been prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications.

Researchers found that medication non-adherence and poorly controlled cholesterol decreased by 6 percent among patients using the portal compared to occasional or non-users.

"This research is an important step in understanding the benefits of portals beyond convenience. Given the clear connection between medication adherence and improved health outcomes, this study provides insight into how online portals may improve health outcomes," said lead author Urmimala Sarkar, MD, an assistant professor at University of California San Francisco.