Oncology Patient Portal: Understanding User's Needs and Expectations

Abstract

The objective of this work was to explore the needs and expectations of the users of the Alexander Fleming Institute (IAF) regarding patient-oriented information systems, with the purpose of planning and prioritizing the implementation of improvements in the patient portal. The textual comments of patients who were treated at the institution between November 2021 and April 2022 and answered the satisfaction survey sent by IAF were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The results showed 6 main emerging issues: (1) the need for patients to have their clinical and administrative information in a single platform; (2) to have their clinical documentation available at the appropriate time; (3) to have clearer and more friendly information on preparation before diagnostic studies and (4) chemotherapy first time talks; (5) more accessible information on complementary treatments in the oncological context; (6) in-app appointment queue functionalities. The findings reported in this work served as an input to design an improvement plan for the patient portal and the institution's digital ecosystem.