Survey | Perspectives of patients about immediate access to test results through an online patient portal

Summary: This study aimed to assess patient and caregiver attitudes and preferences related to receiving immediately released test results through an online patient portal.

In a survey of 8,139 respondents across 4 US academic medical centers, 95,7% of patients preferred to receive immediately released test results through an online patient portal, even if their healthcare practitioner had not yet reviewed the result. However, 7.5% of respondents reported that reviewing results before being contacted by a healthcare practitioner increased worry. This worry was more common among respondents who received abnormal results (16.5%) compared to those whose results were normal (5%).

The authors concluded that balancing patients’ expectations of immediate access to their information with the need to manage increased worry and healthcare practitioner burden is important as healthcare systems navigate this new era of health information transparency.

Article: Perspectives of Patients About Immediate Access to Test Results Through an Online Patient Portal – JAMA Network Open

News Release: Patients prefer immediate access to medical test results online, even if it’s bad news – UT Southwestern Medical Center

Commentary from one of the authors on Twitter

Do patients prefer immediate access to test results, even when the news may not be good?

Multi-site survey of 8,139 patients says: YES ✅
Patients overwhelmingly supported receiving results immediately…

But WHY does this matter?? https://t.co/KSD5qOJKdd#hcldr #healthIT pic.twitter.com/vz8DYBlVu7

— Liz Salmi (@TheLizArmy) March 21, 2023