Use of the patient portal among older adults with diagnosed dementia and their care partners.

The patient portal is used by persons with dementia and their care partners. Organizational efforts that facilitate shared access may benefit the support of persons with dementia and their care partners. HIGHLIGHTS Patient portal registration and use has been increasing among persons with diagnosed dementia. Two thirds of secure messages from portal accounts of patients with diagnosed dementia were identified as being authored by care partners, primarily using patient login credentials. Care partners who accessed the patient portal using their own identity credentials through shared access demonstrate similar levels of activity to patients without dementia. Organizational initiatives should recognize and support the needs of persons with dementia and their care partners by encouraging awareness, registration, and use of proper identity credentials, including shared, or proxy, portal access.