Online patient portal usage linked to higher rates of flu shots, blood pressure checks

Patients who use online patient portals are 50 percent more likely to get a flu shot and twice as likely to have their blood pressure checked as compared to patients who do not interact with these portals. A new Penn Medicine study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, also showed that patients using portals were 50 percent more likely to have their cholesterol checked, adding to the list of preventive health behaviors linked to portal use.