(199) Factors Associated With Patient Portal Engagement in Otolaryngology

Introduction: Patient portal use has been increasing particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic and provides logistical and financial benefits for both patients and providers, but disparities exist in patient portal usage with respect to age, gender, race, and insurance status. However, this has not been studied specifically in otolaryngology, and not since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this project we measure patient portal use at a tertiary care medical center and aim to analyze patient-specific factors associated with portal engagement.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from all Loyola University outpatient otolaryngology visits over a four-year period (12/2018-12/2022). We use univariate analyses to measure how rates of portal use for online clinic scheduling vary across patient demographic groups and provider subspecialty. We also use multivariate analysis to measure the extent to which these factors affect likelihood of portal self-scheduling.

Results: From December 2018 through December 2022, 49,462 patients scheduled 221,611 clinic visits, and significantly more online scheduling occurred after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic (OR 6.0, p< 0.001). In multivariate analysis, male gender, age < 18 or > 65, primary language other than English, and PCP outside of Loyola were all associated with significantly lower likelihood of online appointment scheduling (p < 0.001 for each). Patients with Medicare engaged in the portal more than commercially insured patients when controlling for demographic variables (OR 3.8, p=0.34).

Conclusions: Patient use of MyChart in the Loyola University otolaryngology practice has markedly increased over the last four years. We identified several patient factors, including male gender, age less than 18 or over 65, primary language other than English, and PCP outside of Loyola, that are associated with decreased likelihood of engaging with the patient portal. These data provide an opportunity to improve patient portal content and outreach to patients regarding the benefits of portal use, and ultimately to make the portal more accessible to diverse patient populations.