What is the future of Patient Portals? Will standalone Patient Engagement Platforms survive the next 5 years in the UK and Europe?

Lloyd Price
13 minutes ago
5 min read

What is the future of Patient Portals? Will standalone Patient Engagement Platforms survive the next 5 years in the UK and Europe?

The future of patient portals and standalone patient engagement platforms (PEPs) in the UK and Europe over the next five years will be shaped by technological advancements, policy shifts and evolving patient expectations. Below, the Nelson Advisors team outline key trends and factors influencing their trajectory, addressing both their development and the survival prospects of standalone platforms.

Future of Patient Portals

Patient portals are evolving from basic information repositories into sophisticated, patient centric tools that enhance engagement, streamline care and integrate with broader digital health ecosystems.

Key trends include:

Integration with Broader Digital Health Ecosystems:
- NHS App Convergence: In the UK, the NHS is pushing for patient portals to integrate with the NHS App, aiming for a single point of access for healthcare services. By March 2024, all non-specialist acute trusts were mandated to establish patient portals linked to the NHS App, supported by national funding. This suggests a move toward centralised, interoperable systems rather than fragmented portals.
- Wearable and IoT Integration: Portals will increasingly connect with wearable devices and health apps, providing real-time data on vital signs, activity levels, and medication adherence. This enables proactive interventions and personalised care plans, with AI-driven analytics tailoring content to individual needs.
- EHR Integration: Enhanced interoperability with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) will allow seamless data sharing, improving care coordination and patient access to comprehensive health information.
AI-Powered Personalisation:
- AI will drive hyper-personalised experiences by analysing patient data to deliver tailored reminders, educational content, and care plans. For example, conversational AI and automation are being used to enhance patient-trust interactions, with implementations at trusts like Somerset NHS achieving 95% patient satisfaction rates.
- Automation will streamline tasks like appointment management, reducing administrative burdens and improving patient agency.
Focus on Accessibility and Inclusivity:
- Addressing the digital divide is critical, as ~46% of Europeans lack basic digital literacy skills. Future portals will incorporate features like multilingual support (e.g 99 languages for digital text) and lower barriers to entry, such as simplified interfaces or voice-based navigation, to ensure equitable access.
- Efforts to overcome ethnic and literacy barriers will be prioritised to make portals more inclusive, particularly for underserved populations.
Enhanced Functionality:
- Patient Portals 4.0: Portals will evolve beyond administrative tasks (e.g., booking appointments, viewing results) to include wellness tracking, remote monitoring, and virtual consultations using immersive technologies like VR/AR.
- Features like patient-led appointment management, pre-assessment forms and integration with digital calendars will enhance convenience and engagement.
Policy and Financial Support:
- The NHS Long-Term Plan and initiatives like the HITECH Act in Europe emphasise patient-centred care, driving investment in portals.
- Reimbursement models shifting toward value-based care incentivise providers to adopt technologies that improve patient engagement and outcomes.
Security and Privacy:
- Rising cybersecurity threats necessitate robust security measures. Portals must address patient concerns about data privacy to maintain trust, with secure communication channels being a priority.

Survival of Standalone Patient Engagement Platforms

Standalone PEPs face significant challenges in the UK and Europe, and their survival over the next five years is uncertain due to the following factors:

Consolidation into National Systems:
- The NHS’s push for integration with the NHS App suggests a preference for unified platforms over standalone solutions. Trusts are increasingly adopting standardised systems to ensure interoperability and reduce fragmentation. This could marginalise standalone PEPs that fail to integrate with national frameworks.
- In Europe, similar trends toward centralised digital health platforms (e.g., WHO’s digital health strategies) may limit the market for standalone solutions.
Market Pressures:
- The UK patient engagement solutions market is projected to grow from $442.26M in 2022 to $961.9M by 2030 (CAGR 10.2%), but budget constraints within the NHS limit investment in non-integrated solutions.
- Standalone platforms must compete with comprehensive EHR-integrated portals offered by large vendors like Epic or Cerner, which dominate due to their scalability and interoperability.
Patient and Provider Preferences:
- Patients prefer seamless, all-in-one solutions, as seen with the NHS App’s growing adoption (200,000 new users annually at trusts like Imperial College Healthcare). Standalone platforms risk losing relevance if they cannot match this convenience.
- Providers favour platforms that reduce administrative burdens and integrate with existing workflows, which standalone PEPs often struggle to achieve without significant customisation.
Potential for Niche Survival:
- Standalone PEPs may survive in niche areas, such as specialised care (e.g., mental health, chronic disease management) or private healthcare, where tailored solutions can address specific needs. For example, platforms like IQVIA’s PEP focus on behavioural science-driven adherence programs, which could carve out a niche.
- Smaller vendors offering bespoke solutions (e.g., Pilloxa, priced €2,500–€5,000) may appeal to private clinics or specialised trusts, but scaling to compete with integrated systems will be challenging.
Barriers to Adoption:
- Standalone platforms face barriers like high development costs, limited interoperability, and the need to address digital literacy and inclusivity.
- Security concerns and the need for continuous updates to meet regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR in Europe) add financial strain, making it harder for smaller vendors to compete.

Critical Perspective

While the establishment narrative (e.g., NHS directives, market reports) pushes for integrated, centralised systems, this risks sidelining innovative standalone platforms that may offer more tailored or patient-centric solutions.

The drive for standardization could stifle competition and limit options for patients with specific needs. Moreover, the assumption that all patients will adopt a single platform like the NHS App overlooks persistent digital divides, particularly among older or less tech-savvy populations.

Standalone platforms could address these gaps if they focus on user-friendly, inclusive designs, but they’ll need to navigate a market increasingly dominated by large-scale, government-backed systems.

Patient portals in the UK and Europe are poised for significant evolution, becoming more integrated, AI-driven, and patient-centric, with a focus on accessibility and wellness. However, standalone PEPs face an uphill battle due to the NHS’s push for centralised systems, budget constraints and competition from EHR-integrated solutions. While some may survive in niche markets or by offering highly specialised features, many will likely need to integrate with national platforms or partner with larger vendors to remain viable. Over the next five years, the trend toward consolidation suggests that standalone platforms will struggle unless they can demonstrate unique value or adapt to interoperable ecosystems.

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