| Course | HCA 120 Healthcare Information Systems |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Patient portal paper |
| Length | About 1,044 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Health Care Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for HCA 120 Module 5
Opening the Door Online: Patient Portals, Messages and Who Gets Left Out
Student Name
Health Care Administration Program, Aspen University
HCA 120: Healthcare Information Systems
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Opening the Door Online: Patient Portals, Messages and Who Gets Left Out
A patient portal is a secure website or app through which patients can see parts of their health record and communicate with their practice. Portals promise convenience for patients and fewer phone calls for staff, but they also bring a steady stream of messages, and not every patient uses them. This paper describes the portal at a composite six-provider family practice, the work it creates for staff and the evidence on who is offered portal access and who uses it.
What the Portal Offers
Through the practice's portal, patients can view results, visit summaries, medication and allergy lists and immunizations; request appointments and refills; pay bills; complete forms before visits; and send secure messages. Since the information blocking provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act took effect, most results and notes are released to the portal promptly, often before the provider has reviewed them. That change means patients sometimes see an abnormal result before anyone has called them.
Functions and Staff Work
Every portal function saves some work and creates other work. The table shows the main functions and who handles them.
| Portal function | Saves | Creates |
|---|---|---|
| Viewing results | Calls to report normal results | Messages asking what results mean |
| Appointment requests | Phone calls to schedule | Requests to review and confirm |
| Refill requests | Pharmacy and phone calls | Protocol review by medical assistant |
| Secure messages | Phone tag | A daily inbox needing triage |
| Online forms | Clipboard time at check-in | Forms to review and file |
| Bill payment | Mailed statements, payment calls | Questions about balances |
Handling Message Volume
Messages became the practice's largest portal workload. Inbox work alone took nearly a quarter (23.7%) of family physicians' record time in one event-log study (Arndt et al., 2017). The practice set a two-business-day response standard and routed messages by type: scheduling questions to the front desk, billing questions to the billing office, refills and routine clinical questions to medical assistants and nurses, and only questions needing a clinical decision to providers. An automatic reply tells patients not to use the portal for emergencies.
Who Is Offered Access
Portal use depends first on being offered it. Using national survey data, researchers at the federal health IT office found that Black and Hispanic individuals were 5.2 percentage points less likely than White individuals to be offered a portal and, among those offered, 7.9 points less likely to access it; individuals who were encouraged by a provider to use their portal were 21 percentage points more likely to access it (Richwine et al., 2023). Front desk staff, who usually offer enrollment, are therefore central to fair access.
Who Uses It
Among adults with chronic conditions followed in a Chicago cohort, portal login activity rose during the pandemic, but lower activity was associated with age 70 or older, and with Hispanic or Black race and ethnicity compared with White patients, while adequate health literacy was associated with higher activity (Yoon et al., 2024). In the composite practice, enrollment was lowest among patients over 75 and among Spanish-speaking patients, whose portal was available only in English until the practice requested the vendor's Spanish version.
Proxy Access
Some patients need someone else to use the portal for them. Parents manage young children's accounts, and adult children often help older parents. The practice offers proxy access with the patient's written permission, which lets a caregiver use their own login instead of the patient's password. For adolescents, proxy access is limited so that confidential services remain private, following state law.
When Results Arrive First
Immediate release of results created a new kind of message: worried patients asking about results they had just seen. The practice added plain-language explanations for common tests, asked providers to review results within one business day and posted a note in the portal explaining that results may appear before the provider's comments. Patients were given the choice to wait for a call before viewing sensitive results where the system allowed.
Plan to Widen Enrollment
The practice set a goal of raising portal enrollment from 48% to 65% of active patients within a year while closing gaps by age and language. Front desk staff now offer the portal to every patient at check-in, with a short script and a card in English and Spanish. Medical assistants help interested patients sign up on their phones before they leave. Enrollment is reported monthly by age group and preferred language.
Keeping Other Channels Open
A portal should add a channel, not replace others. Patients who do not use it must still be able to call, receive results by phone and get paper summaries. The practice made sure that no service, such as refill requests or appointment booking, was available only through the portal.
Security
Portal accounts must be protected with strong passwords and, where available, two-step login. Staff never ask patients for their portal passwords and verify identity before resetting access. Messages should not include more information than needed, since a patient's email notification may be seen by others.
Measuring the Portal
The practice reviews portal measures monthly: enrollment by age and preferred language, messages per 100 patients, average response time, the share of refill requests arriving through the portal and phone call volume. A rise in messages without a fall in phone calls would suggest the portal was adding work rather than moving it, so both are watched together.
Training Staff to Offer the Portal
Staff who offer the portal need to know how to use it. The practice gave front desk staff test accounts so they could see what patients see, and a two-minute script covering what the portal does, how to sign up and how to get help. Staff also learned what not to do, such as creating accounts on behalf of patients or writing down their passwords.
Conclusion
The patient portal gives patients direct access to their information and a way to reach the practice without phone calls, but it shifts work into a message inbox that must be triaged. National evidence shows that access is uneven and that encouragement from staff makes a large difference. By offering the portal to every patient, providing it in their language and keeping other channels open, the practice can gain the portal's benefits without leaving patients behind.
References
Arndt, B. G., Beasley, J. W., Watkinson, M. D., Temte, J. L., Tuan, W.-J., Sinsky, C. A., & Gilchrist, V. J. (2017). Tethered to the EHR: Primary care physician workload assessment using EHR event log data and time-motion observations. Annals of Family Medicine, 15(5), 419-426. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2121
Richwine, C., Johnson, C., & Patel, V. (2023). Disparities in patient portal access and the role of providers in encouraging access and use. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 30(2), 308-317. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocac227
Yoon, E., Hur, S., Opsasnick, L., Huang, W., Batio, S., Curtis, L. M., Benavente, J. Y., Lewis-Thames, M. W., Liebovitz, D. M., Wolf, M. S., & Serper, M. (2024). Disparities in patient portal use among adults with chronic conditions. JAMA Network Open, 7(2), Article e240680. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0680
Reading the HCA 120 Module 5 assignment instructions
Since the HCA 120 description asks how technology is used in health care now, and the module's own instructions are visible only inside Aspen's classroom, patient portals make a natural subject here. Portal assignments usually ask you to explain what portals do, assess benefits and drawbacks for patients and staff and address access or equity. Some ask for recommendations to raise use. Check your prompt for the audience, whether a manager or a patient, and for required sources. Use studies that measure who is offered and who uses portals, and connect those findings to steps a practice can take. State clearly whether your recommendations are for a practice, a hospital or a health system.
Inside the HCA 120 Module 5 example
About 1,040 words and fourteen headings make up the sample, with one table of portal functions. It opens with what the portal offers, including immediate release of results under federal rules. The table sets out what each function saves and creates. Message handling comes next, with a routing plan and inbox time data. Two evidence sections examine who is offered and who uses portals. Proxy access, results seen before review, an enrollment plan, keeping other channels open, security, staff training and monthly measures follow. A margin note explains why message triage is an administrative problem as much as a clinical one. The conclusion returns to access, the paper's central concern.
Reading the HCA 120 Module 5 grading rubric
Portal papers are generally assessed on accurate description, balanced analysis, attention to equity and practical recommendations. Description covers the functions and the rules on releasing results. Balance appears in the table, which counts the work a portal adds as well as saves. Equity is at the center, supported by a national survey and a cohort study with specific figures. Recommendations, such as offering the portal to every patient in their language and routing messages by type, are concrete and measurable. An event-log study adds inbox data, and all three sources are cited in APA style. Papers that ignore unequal access tend to lose marks here. Monthly measures for enrollment and response time also show the plan can be checked.
Common HCA 120 Module 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often praise portals without noting that many patients never use them or are never offered them. Address access directly, with evidence. Another gap is forgetting the staff workload that messages create; describe how messages are handled. Some papers also miss the effect of results being released before a provider reviews them. Include proxy access for caregivers and adolescents. If your prompt asks for recommendations, make them measurable. For feedback on your draft or help choosing studies on portal access, our tutors can read your paper and suggest where the argument needs support. Make sure your security section covers identity checks before password resets. Mention portals in other languages if your patient population needs them.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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- HCA 120 Module 7: Security and Privacy in Daily Use
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HCA 120 Module 5 questions, answered
What does HCA 120 Module 5 usually ask for?
The HCA 120 description covers how technology is used in health care today, so a paper on patient portals is a typical assignment. Check your Aspen classroom for the prompt.
Why do some patients not use portals?
Research links lower use to older age, lower health literacy and not being offered the portal, with differences by race and ethnicity.
What is proxy access?
Portal access granted to a caregiver, with the patient's permission, through the caregiver's own login.
Where can I find a free HCA 120 Module 5 sample paper?
It is published in full above: the patient portal paper with its functions table and margin notes, open for anyone to study. It is sample five of eight for HCA 120.
Why do results sometimes appear in the portal before the provider calls in HCA 120 Module 5?
Federal rules under the 21st Century Cures Act require prompt release of most results and notes, often before the provider has reviewed them.