Patient portals ease access to doctors, and that has some drawbacks

Chief Healthcare Executive August 15, 2025
Ron Southwick

Health systems and practices tout the convenience of portals to help schedule appointments and ask questions. Doctors say there can be downsides, and some say they’re overwhelmed by the volume.

Health systems and physician practices have been employing patient portals as they look to make it easier for patients to get the care they need with more convenience.

Patients can use those portals to get test results, schedule appointments, and increasingly, to send questions to their providers about concerns.

Doctors, practices and health systems say that’s very positive, to a point. But some doctors say that they’re seeing a greater volume of messages and it’s adding to their stress and burnout.

More than two-thirds of doctors (68%) said they feel...

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