Racial differences in patient consent policy preferences for electronic health information exchange.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the association between demographic variables, such as race and gender, and patient consent policy preferences for health information exchange as well as self-report by VHA enrollees of information continuity between Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and community non-VHA heath care providers.

Materials And Methods: Data were collected between March 25, 2016 and August 22, 2016 in an online survey of 19 567 veterans. Three questions from the 2016 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey, which addressed care continuity, were included.

Patient-provider secure messaging in VA: variations in adoption and association with urgent care utilization.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration has implemented patient to clinical team electronic asynchronous secure messaging (SM). This disruptive technology has the potential to support continuous, coordinated quality care, but limited evidence supports this connection.

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to (1) measure SM implementation and identify facility characteristics associated with higher rates of adoption and (2) understand the association of SM use and noncontinuity care [ie, urgent care (UC)] utilization rates.