Usage of health plan member portals lags despite wide adoption, HealthMine survey says
Confusing navigation, lack of incentives for use and understanding of how they work were reasons for the low utilization rate, results showed.
While almost 90 percent of health plan members are connected to a member portal, only 21 percent are actually using the portal regularly, according to HealthMine, a healthcare technology company that offers health intelligence for plan members and plan sponsors.
The HealthMine Health Plan Intelligence Survey involved 750 insured consumers enrolled in a wellness program in January 2017, with a 4 percent margin of error.
When asked if they were connected to the portal, only 11 percent said they were not. However, only 21 percent said they use it regularly, and 31 percent said they use it "sometimes."
Moreover, only 30 percent of respondents said they were able to find answers to most of their healthcare questions through the member portal, without having to make a phone call.
The reasons given for the low rate of utilization varied, but of all them, the largest share of respondents said the portal was just too confusing to navigate. After that, lack of incentives, lack of understanding as to how it works, and a feeling that the portal wasn't helpful also emerged as reasons for low utilization, survey results showed.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
