Patients Rush to Look at Test Results, but Many Don't Understand Them

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that most individuals examine their medical test results online before hearing from their healthcare provider, but many struggle to comprehend the information. Among 4,982 survey participants, 68.6% viewed their results immediately after they were released, according to researchers from NYU School of Global Public Health.

Among those who viewed their results, 6.6% reported poor understanding of the results and their implications, while 34.9% felt they understood very well, 31.7% understood well, and 26.8% understood fairly well.

Factors associated with poor comprehension included living in the Midwest or South and experiencing medical care discrimination. In contrast, better patient-centered communication and higher digital literacy were linked to a lower prevalence of poor comprehension. The 21st Century Cures Act mandates that test results be made available to patients in their patient portals as soon as they become available.

Study co-author José Pagán, PhD, emphasized the importance of providing patients with access to their results in a transparent manner and ensuring that the information is easily understood. He also suggested that providers could improve communication by presenting information in the patient's native language and exploring the use of artificial intelligence and chatbots to aid patients in understanding their test results.

Limitations of the study included limited insights into habitual behavior, reliance on self-reported data, and the inability to account for system-level variations in the implementation of immediate-result release.