Health IT Research & Analysis
Quick Stats

U.S. Hospital Adoption of Patient Engagement Functionalities

Last Updated

September 2025

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From 2012 to 2024, U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals reported a gradual increase in patients’ ability to access their health information and engage with hospital providers. By 2024, nearly all hospitals enabled patients to view and download their health information, view clinical notes, and securely message with a healthcare provider. By 2024, 85% of hospitals reported that patients could also electronically transmit (send) information in a structured format, but this number remains relatively flat since 2022. Since 2017, API-based app access to patient information has increased substantially, with 7 in 8 hospitals in 2024 reporting that their patients can engage with their health information in this way. Despite consistent growth over time, only a small majority (less than 2 in 3) of hospitals in 2024 enable patients to submit patient-generated health data.

For more information on hospital electronic patient engagement functionalities, please read data brief, Growth of Health IT-Enabled Patient Engagement Capabilities Among U.S. Hospitals: 2021-2024, which highlights hospitals’ growing adoption (between 2021 and 2024) of health IT-enabled foundational, emerging, and advanced patient engagement capabilities. 

Percent of Hospitals with Capability

 201220132014201520162017201820192021202220232024
Information Access
View information from health/medical record24%40%91%95%97%97%97%98%98%99%99%99%
Download information from health/medical record14%28%82%87%88%91%91%92%95%96%97%96%
Electronically transmit information in a structured format—12%66%71%74%74%73%75%78%84%85%85%
View clinical notes——————57%81%87%93%94%96%
API-driven app access to medical information—————39%46%73%73%86%86%87%
Import medical records from other organizations into portal—————33%36%53%50%53%56%56%
Designate proxy access to patient information————86%88%86%90%90%———
Patient Engagement
Secure messaging with health care provider——51%63%69%73%75%79%89%93%93%93%
Submit patient-generated data7%13%33%37%40%47%52%55%55%60%62%65%
Request to update health/medical record31%33%72%77%79%81%70%73%75%76%——
Pay bills online49%55%67%74%80%83%87%87%89%———
Schedule appointments online22%30%41%44%49%56%60%57%71%———
Request prescription refills online19%27%39%42%50%55%57%67%79%———

Data are from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) Supplement to the AHA Annual Survey. Since 2008, ONC has partnered with the AHA to measure the adoption and use of health IT in U.S. hospitals.

The chief executive officer of each U.S. hospital was invited to participate in the survey regardless of AHA membership status. The person most knowledgeable about the hospital’s health IT (typically the chief information officer) was requested to provide the information via a mail survey or secure online site. Non-respondents received follow-up mailings and phone calls to encourage response.

The statistics reported in this quick stat reflect the availability of data pertaining to each patient engagement capability in each respective year that the Health IT Supplement was fielded. Beginning in 2012, statistics were calculated using answers from the survey question: “Are patients able to do any of the following regarding their health/medical records?” [multiple functionalities listed]. Beginning in 2019, the question included further specification regarding whether patients were able to perform each engagement functionality in an inpatient or outpatient setting. From 2019 onward, hospitals were counted as having enabled each respective patient engagement functionality if they indicated doing so in either an inpatient or an outpatient setting. Importantly, denominators include only non-federal acute care hospitals.

We note a change in analytic approach for statistics presented after 2015. For survey years 2012-2015, non-response was included in the denominator such that a response was captured as a hospital enabling the patient capability if the respondent indicated “Yes” to the survey item and otherwise as not enabling the capability. After 2015, nonresponse was excluded from the denominator, but a “don’t know” response was counted in the denominator as a “no.”

In years without a statistic for a specific capability, the particular question response item was excluded from the fielding and may no longer be included in recurring survey fieldings.