Multifunctional Online Medical Record Use and Patient Empowerment: Examining the Mediating Role of Patient-Centered Communication Across the Life Span in the Greater China Region

= 6,271) of patients from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Results revealed that OMR usage for online patient-provider interactions, self-health management, and decision-making was associated with patient empowerment among younger (18-34) and middle-aged (35-59) cohorts, with PCC mediating these relationships. eHealth literacy (eHL) moderated the relationship between self-health management and PCC in younger and middle-aged cohorts, while also moderating the association between decision-making and PCC across all age cohorts. Framed within the ecological model of health communication and life span perspectives, these findings suggest that future OMR studies would benefit from more nuanced and dialectical approaches. Practical implications are also discussed.