Race/Ethnicity, Nativity Status, and Patient Portal Access and Use

We examined whether patient portals (online medical records) access and use differed between groups of various races/ethnicities and nativity status. We used data from the nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey (N=3,191). We used logistic regression to examine associations between nativity status and the following three binary outcomes: (1) being offered access to patient portals by patients’ health care providers/insurers, (2) being encouraged to use one by their health care providers, and (3) having used one within the past 12 months. We also investigated whether race/ ethnicity moderated the relation between nativity status and these three outcomes. Among Asians, the likelihood of being offered access to a patient portal depended on nativity status. U.S.-born Asians had the highest rate of being offered access to a portal (66%) and foreign-born Asians had the lowest rate (38%). There were no differences as a function of nativity status for other races/ ethnic groups.