Table 2.
Experiences of Patients, Proxies, and Providers Utilizing the Patient Portal Feature.
| Key themes and subthemes | Sample quotes |
|---|---|
| Agency | “I giveth and taketh away [proxy access]”—Patient |
| “I think the benefits [of proxy access] are numerous … having the patient becoming more engaged with their own disease process and having the support person help hold a patient accountable.”—Provider | |
| “I really want my folks [parents]to be self-managers, so I really encourage … them to go look for their [medical information] on their [MyChart].”—Proxy | |
| Connection | “I think the objective of having everybody on the same page and seeing the same health information. I think is the most beneficial [part of proxy access].”—Patient |
| “So when we walk in [to the patient's appointment] we’re doing a bit of that trying to gauge. Are [the patient and the support person in the room with the patient] really working together for the patient's condition.”—Provider | |
| “I mean it's been nice to have access without having to use [patient's] login information because I know that's not really the right thing to do. This makes me feel like [the patient] gave me permission to [access patient's EHR].”—Proxy | |
| Support | “Without my [proxy] I don't know where I’d be.”—Patient |
| “But a lot of times, even if the patient with diabetes is very knowledgeable about what [medications] they are taking, it can still be overwhelming. Having the support person … to help comfort [the patient].”—Provider | |
| “I think that's very good to have somebody you know because diabetes is like a roller coaster … it is hard to manage … So it's important to take your medicines as direct and keep your appointments regularly but it's also important to have good support.”—Provider | |
| “There's not really been, anything that I felt like I needed [from the patient's EHR].”—Proxy | |
| Technology literacy | |
| Comfortability | “Anything dealing with a computer is not for me.”—Patient |
| “I use the Patient Portal a huge amount! I think we [providers] all do.”—Provider | |
| “I’m not the fastest that the computer but I am getting it.”—Proxy | |
| Utilization | “Even if an elderly [patient] never uses it, if you just get [EHR and proxy access] set up and get the proxy going, somebody can keep up with [the patient's records].”—Provider |