Many patients using patient portals may not fully understand results of laboratory testing

Patient Viewing and Comprehension of Immediately Released Test Results

1. In a large cross-sectional study, patients who viewed laboratory/test results immediately through patient portals were assessed on how well they understood those results before discussing them with a healthcare professional.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Immediate release of laboratory and diagnostic results through electronic patient portals allows patients to access health information before discussing it with their clinician, but may create challenges for patients with limited health or digital literacy. This cross-sectional study analyzed 4,982 adults from the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey to evaluate test-result viewing and comprehension. Overall, 68.6% (95% CI, 66.4%–70.9%) of patients reported viewing their results before hearing from a clinician, while 6.6% (95% CI, 5.1%–8.1%) reported poor understanding of their results. Greater digital literacy was associated with increased likelihood of viewing results (adjusted PR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.17–1.32; P<0.001) but decreased likelihood of poor comprehension (PR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.46–0.85; P=0.003). Patient-centered communication was also associated with better comprehension (PR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.37–0.67; P<0.001). Overall, the study suggests that although immediate electronic access to test results is being widely used, a meaningful subset of patients may not fully understand their results, emphasizing the importance of patient-centered communication and digital health literacy when implementing immediate-result-release systems.

Click here to read this study in JAMA Network Open

Image: PD

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