Patient Digital Engagement With After Visit Summary in Ambulatory Care - PubMed
2 hours ago
- #Patient Engagement
- #Digital Health
- #Ambulatory Care
- The study analyzes 6,262,623 ambulatory care visits from 2018 to 2023 at a large urban academic health system.
- Digital After Visit Summary (AVS) engagement increased from 20.8% to 37.6%, but remained low overall, with 62.4% of AVS not viewed.
- Physicians spent a median of 1.38 minutes per visit writing patient instructions, despite low patient engagement with the digital AVS.
- Patient engagement varied by demographics: higher among married vs. single, retired vs. employed, and females vs. males; lower among non-English speakers and those with public insurance like Medicare.
- Engagement differed by specialty: lower in medical and surgical specialties compared to primary care, with no significant difference in urgent care.
- Physician behaviors influenced engagement: physician-written instructions increased engagement, while printing the AVS decreased it.
- The study highlights inefficiencies in post-visit communication and calls for targeted improvements, especially for unmarried males, non-English speakers, and publicly insured patients.