Use of My Health e Vet patient web portal among veterans seen for diabetes mellitus at a medical center in the southeastern United States.

Background: An increasing number of studies have examined the use of information technology to improve diabetes care and patient self-management. The goal of the current study was to determine the number of veterans seen for diabetes at a large medical center in the southeastern region of the U.S. and to examine whether they had registered for VA's My Health e Vet patient web portal according to selected characteristics.

Methods: Existing patient records were reviewed including My Health e Vet web portal registration by veterans treated for diabetes (ICD-10 code for type 2 diabetes) at the Charlie Norwood VAMC. Number of outpatient clinic patients seen for diabetes who had or had not registered for My Health e Vet were examined by age categories, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and era of military service.

Results: A total of 49,341 veterans receive care at the Charlie Norwood VAMC. Of those patients, 10,950 have been seen for diabetes. Of the 49,341 patients, 21,372 patients (43.3%) are using My Health e Vet and 10,465 patients (21.2%) have used secure messages. Of 10,950 diabetic patients, only 1,256 (11.5%) have registered for My Health e Vet. Women with diabetes were more likely to be registered for My Health e Vet than their male counterparts [13.92% vs. 11.24%; odds ratio (OR)=1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.55). Veterans with diabetes who served during WW II or the Korean War were less likely to use My Health e Vet than those who served during more recent eras (OR=0.33; 95% CI: 0.24-0.44). Use of the patient portal was highest among diabetic patients ages 51-55 years (15.6%).

Conclusions: A low percentage of Veterans with diabetes are active users of My Health e Vet. Studies are needed to identify My Health e Vet portal design features and veteran characteristics that will increase use of this patient portal which may improve diabetes care.