🔎︎
Patient portals are a common way for patients to access electronic medical records and communicate with health care organizations. In a perspective published June 17, 2026, in NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, Jennifer L. Wolff and Catherine M. DesRoches write that efforts to promote portal awareness and use have focused largely on patients, with less attention to family members and friends who help manage care for people with complex, costly, or disabling conditions.
The authors describe care partners as individuals who may help coordinate appointments, monitor information, and support the day-to-day activities of the care plan. They write that care partner involvement and capacity can affect care delivery and resource use. However, they note that care partners are often not fully included in digital health initiatives and may have limited access to information needed to help coordinate or carry out a patient's care.
Wolff and DesRoches review current care partner engagement through patient portals and describe a system in which portal functions are widely available but primarily designed around patient use. They also describe the launch of the Coalition for Care Partners, an initiative intended to support work across research, policy, and practice, and outline an agenda for further development in those areas.
