Patient EHR Portals Increase Hospitalization Rates

Patients who had online access to their health records and e-mail communication with their health care professionals through an electronic health record (EHR) portal had higher hospitalization rates than before they had access. They also had higher hospitalization rates than patients who did not have access. People with online access to their health records and additional communication with health care professionals also made more emergency department visits, more office visits, had more telephone encounters, and made more after-hours clinic visits. The findings were reported in “Association of Online Patient Access to Clinicians and Medical Records With Use of . . .