By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    risky jobs for lungs
    These Are the 10 Riskiest Jobs for Your Lungs
    November 15, 2022
    house cleaning tips to stay healthy this year
    Crucial House Cleaning Tips to Stay Healthy This Winter
    December 20, 2022
    Treating accidental Spinal Cord Injuries with Technology
    Treating Accidental Spinal Cord Injuries with Technology
    February 28, 2023
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    The Flu Vaccine: Pros and Cons
    February 10, 2012
    SCOTUS Rules on a Couple of Important Pharma Cases
    June 27, 2011
    Weekend Athlete: Should You Have Sex Friday Night?
    March 8, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Are privileged people wasting their time using healthcare portals?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Are privileged people wasting their time using healthcare portals?
eHealth

Are privileged people wasting their time using healthcare portals?

DavidEWilliams
DavidEWilliams
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE
Should I enter the portal or not?

Should I enter the portal or not?

Should I enter the portal or not?

Should I enter the portal or not?

A new study on use of electronic health portals by patients with chronic kidney disease is another example of telling people something we already know: people with lower socioeconomic status don’t adopt healthcare innovations to the same extent as those with higher status. In this case, white, young, married, commercially insured, higher income patients used the portal more.

Here’s what the lead author told NPR about the study:

“Despite the increasing availability of smartphones and other technologies to access the Internet, the adoption of e-health technologies does not appear to be equitable,” Abdel-Kader says. “As we feel we are advancing, we may actually perversely be reinforcing disparities that we had been making progress on.”

Presumably the portal users expected to receive some sort of benefit as a result of logging in. However, from what I can understand from the NPR story and study abstract, the researchers were unable to document the clinical benefit (better blood pressure control) that they were expecting to find.

So maybe a better conclusion is that relatively privileged people with the luxury of time and bandwidth on their hands tend to waste time and resources on a portal that doesn’t provide benefits, while those with lower status focus on more important and productive pursuits.

Ok, that conclusion may not be correct either, but I have real doubts about the usefulness of this research.

It’s ironic that the authors –while bemoaning barriers to access and arguing passionately for policies to address it– published their study and accompanying editorial behind a paywall in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology rather than with an open access publisher such as PLOS. I’m curious about the details of the study but not enough to pay $27 for the article and another $27 to read the editorial. I’m going to spend my $54 on something better.

Image courtesy of basketman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
—

By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.

TAGGED:appsdigital tools for patientsdoctor-patient engagementmedical economics
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

hospital social media
eHealthHospital Administration

Hospital Facebook LIKES Reflect Patient Satisfaction and Lower Mortality Rates

March 21, 2013

mHealth Summit Conference 2011: Thoughts and Takeaways

December 7, 2011
Medulous logo
eHealthSocial Media

New Website Helps Patients Avoid Bad Medical Treatments

September 25, 2013

Teaching Social Media to Cardiologists: Opening (My) Eyes and Dropping Jaws in Gotham

December 3, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?