Abstract: FR-PO0049
Patient Portal Messaging Among CKD Patients
Session Information
- Artificial Intelligence: Clinical Prediction, Decision Support, and Digital Kidney Care
October 23, 2026 | Location: Exhibit Hall A, Convention Center
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Health, and Data Science
- 300 Artificial Intelligence, Digital Health, and Data Science
Authors
- Mankowski, Michal, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
- Long, Jane J., New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
- Segev, Dorry L., New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
Background
Patient portal messaging has become a primary mode of communication between patients and care teams, yet its utilization among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains poorly characterized. Understanding messaging volume, content, and disparities is essential to optimizing portal-based kidney care and digital outreach.
Methods
Cross-sectional analysis of patient- and proxy-initiated MyChart messages in Epic Cosmos (a database of >301M patients) sent by patients with CKD diagnosis codes (January–December 2025). Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD, ICD-10-CM N18.6) were excluded. Messages were stratified by age, preferred language, Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), rural-urban classification, legal sex, and sender type.
Results
We identified 2,343,603 portal-active CKD patients who sent 28,282,286 MyChart messages in 2025. Most messages (71.4% of all portal messages) were brief (<250 characters). Messaging intensity declined with age: patients <55 years sent 15.1 messages/patient/year vs. 9.4 among those ≥85 years (Figure). Most messages came from patients aged 65–74 (30.1%) and 75–84 years (28.8%). English-speaking patients generated 91.8% of messages; Spanish-speaking patients 0.7%, and other-language patients 7.4%. Among messages with SVI recorded, messaging volume decreased with increasing social vulnerability (low SVI: 558,674 patients, 6,727,303 messages; high SVI: 222,153 patients, 2,739,434 messages). Rural patients comprised 12.8% of messages. Proxy-sent messages accounted for 4.7% of total CKD messages.
Conclusion
Nearly 2.3 million CKD patients sent over 28 million portal messages in 2025. Messaging intensity declines with age, and patients with higher social vulnerability and non-English language preference send fewer messages, highlighting important disparities in portal engagement that may widen care gaps for vulnerable CKD populations.
Acknowledgment
Artificial intelligence co-scientist tools (Claude, Anthropic) were used to assist with data organization, statistical code refinement, and abstract drafting. All content was reviewed, verified, and approved by the lead author, who takes full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the data and conclusions presented.