Patient Portals in Pharmacist-run Ambulatory Care Clinics: Is There “Meaningful Use”?

Objective The purpose of this study is to describe patient portal utilization within pharmacist-managed clinics at an academic medical center from the perspectives of the institution, healthcare team, and patient. This study measures the progress toward meeting requirements for meaningful use per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Methods The study included patients in pharmacist-managed clinics and consisted of a retrospective chart review and patient survey. Primary endpoints consisted of: 1) report progress toward meeting CMS criteria for meaningful use in subset of patients seen in the pharmacy-managed clinics, 2) describe utilization of patient portal across the healthcare team in patients of the pharmacist-managed clinics and 3) describe the usefulness of the patient portal from the patient’s perspective. Results The pharmacist-managed clinics met and exceeded meaningful use requirements. Seventy one percent of patients had been offered portal access and more than 10% of unique patients initiated a message. The healthcare team utilized the patient portal for a variety of clinical and non-clinical purposes. Per patient survey, of those who used the patient portal, 80% reported at least monthly use and 96% reported that the portal was either somewhat or very useful. Conclusions Pharmacist-managed clinics met and exceeded CMS meaningful use criteria. Patients reported that the patient portal is a useful tool that improves access to healthcare providers and increases efficiency. Pharmacists play a valuable role in assuring hospitals meet required CMS meaningful use objectives in order to qualify for the financial incentives