Background: Electronic portfolios (ePFs) which can be accessed from personal computers and mobile devices are gaining in importance in medical education.

Methods: We sent out by post written invitations to participate in an online survey to the medical education units of all 80 medical schools in Japan.

Results: Of the 70 schools from which replies were received, 16 use paper-based portfolios, 14 use ePFs, 8 use both, and 32 do not use either. The most commonly used ePF systems are Mahara, manaba folio, and WebClass, and they are used in particular for clinical training. An increased burden on the faculty is considered a demerit of ePFs. Compared with paper-based portfolios, ePFs facilitate timely feedback and the better storage and sharing of data, but, on the other hand, they are demanding in terms of infrastructure and technical administration. Current ePF solutions are not considered optimized for medical education.

Discussion: There is a need for the development of a common ePF environment for use in medical education.