Use of Web-Based Shared Medical Records Among Patients With HIV

OBJECTIVES: To compare use of 7 shared electronic medical record (SMR) features by adult HIV patients. STUDY DESIGN: Observational cohort study of adult HIV-positive patients in the first 36 months following implementation of the SMR at Group Health and Kaiser Permanente Northern California. METHODS: Automated data from the 36 months following SMR implementation were assessed in 2 integrated delivery systems. Cox proportional hazards analysis identified factors associated with any SMR use. RESULTS: Most (3888/7398) patients used the SMR at least once. Users were most likely to view medical test results (49%), use secure messaging (43%), or request appointments (31%) or medication refills (30%). Initial use was associated with new prescription for antiretroviral therapy (rate ratio [RR] 1.65, P <.001), recent change to a CD4+ count of fewer than 200 cells per microliter (RR = 1.34, P <.02), new HIV RNA of 75 or more copies per milliliter (RR = 1.63, P <.001), or recent increase in non-HIV comorbidity score (RR = 1.49, P = .0001). Users were less likely to be women (RR = 0.49, P = .0001), injection drug users (RR = 0.59, P = .0001), or from lower-socioeconomic status neighborhoods (RR = 0.68, P = .0001), and were less likely to be black (RR = 0.38, P = .0001), Hispanic (RR = 0.52, P = .0001) or Asian/Pacific Islander (RR = 0.59, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: SMR use was higher among HIV patients who had indicators of recent increases in healthcare needs and lower among several vulnerable populations.