ICHP Affiliate Faculty Member Speaks at Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting

Lindsay-Thompson heightLindsay Thompson, M.D., M.S., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and assistant director of clinical research in the Institute for Child Health Policy, spoke at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., on April 26. Her presentation was on the creation of an adolescent patient portal, which is part of a pilot project started at UF to allow confidential communication between teens and their health care providers.

According to Thompson, many institutions have chosen to implement adolescent portals, as is encouraged by the national meaningful use objectives. To her knowledge, however, her research team is among the first to use key stakeholders to grapple with how to craft a policy that is truly meaningful to adolescents.

“Our data show that adolescents use the portal similarly to parents of younger children, showing that in the future this portal could be used to improve health literacy skills and facilitate transition to adult services more effectively,” Thompson said.