As a senior citizen I am writing to express my frustration with the explosion of online medical portals. Originally intended to improve access to health information, these systems have instead become a burden on patients — especially older adults or those with limited digital skills.

I now find myself managing nearly 9 different portals, and my wife has a similar share of portals. There are portals for nearly every provider, clinic, or imaging center I’ve visited. Half of them barely function. Many require separate logins, passwords, and two-factor authentication, making it feel like I’m doing IT work just to check a result or send a message.

It’s time for the medical profession to recognize that tech overload is not patient-centered care. We need simplicity, and the option to opt out — not more portals or at least prescribe a tranquilizer to go with the portal.

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

Source link