Patients? use of smartphone apps for health record access in 2019: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: The 21st Century Cures Act has expanded patients' access to portals through smartphone applica-tions (apps). To date, the prevalence of patient portal smartphone apps use is unclear, especially on a national scale. Methods: Using the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey, we assessed factors associated with patient portal adopters accessing their records through a smartphone app. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted and we reported results using predicted probability. Results: Across a weighted sample of 75,324,288 respondents, 39 % reported using a smartphone app to access their health records. Adults with smartphone-only internet (40.0 %; 95 % CI: 35.4 - 33.3) were more likely to use a smartphone app compared to adults with home internet access (30.6 %; 95 % CI: 27.9 - 44.7). Conclusions: Optimizing the implementation and delivery of patient portal content via smartphone apps may improve their reach to patients.