Evaluating mobile patient portals from a health behavioral change support perspective: mining user feedback using topic modeling

Information systems are increasingly playing a major role in the cost-effective delivery of healthcare services. Recently, the healthcare industry has shifted its focus toward patient-centered care, in which patients play a major role in managing their health. As a result, healthcare providers are employing patient portals - consumer-centric tools - to strengthen patients' ability to actively manage their health and healthcare. In this study, we extend the existing literature on patient portals by examining the functionalities and features of current portals from users' experiences with mobile patient portal apps, mapping the identified functionalities and features to established design principles of health behavioral change support systems, and identifying limitations of existing patient portals. Results show that current patient portal apps are limited with respect to integration with medical devices, social support, customization, persuasive messages, and peer-based technical support.