Direct reporting of laboratory test results to patients by mail to enhance patient safety
Open accessAbstract
Background Missed test results are common in clinical practice and compromise patient safety. Direct reporting, whereby testing centers systematically notify both patients and providers of important test results, constitutes a potential solution, but provider acceptance is unknown.Objective To assess provider interest in direct reporting of selected test results and how interest varied across different tests.Design, setting, and participants Survey of primary care physicians at a tertiary care academic medical center.Measurement Five-point Likert scores were used to gauge each physician's interest (1 = not at all interested to 5 = very interested) in scenarios pertaining to the direct reporting of 3 diagnostic tests of low (DXA scan), intermediate (genital herpes testing), and high (breast biopsy) "emotional impact" and whether interest varied with each test's result (normal vs abnormal). Physicians were also asked to cite specific advantages and disadvantages of direct reporting.Results The response rate was 73% (148/202). Physician interest in direct reporting decreased progressively as scenarios shifted from low (DXA scan) to high (breast biopsy) emotional impact (P < .001); interest in direct reporting was also higher when results were normal rather than abnormal (P < .001). Common advantages of direct reporting cited by respondents were reductions in workload (selected by 75% of respondents) and reductions in missed diagnoses (38%). The most common concerns were that patients would become unnecessarily frightened (70%) and would seek unreliable information (65%).Conclusion Direct reporting of selected test results to patients is one system for insuring that important results are not missed, but implementation should consider the specific test in question, the test result, and provider preferences.
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Physicians currently tend to favor direct reporting of test results to patients only when results are normal, have less diagnostic severity, or have less potential for emotional impact.
“Although direct reporting to patients may prevent loss of follow-up, physicians currently tend to favor direct reporting only when test results are normal, have less diagnostic severity, or have less potential for emotional impact.55”
From Reducing Diagnostic Errors through Effective Communication: Harnessing the Power of Information Technology (2008) · cites this paper as [55]
Direct reporting of test results to patients may prevent loss of follow-up.
“Although direct reporting to patients may prevent loss of follow-up”
From Reducing Diagnostic Errors through Effective Communication: Harnessing the Power of Information Technology (2008) · cites this paper as [55]
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- Authors
- Sung, S., Forman-Hoffman, V., Wilson, M. C., & Cram, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cram, Peter
- Venue
- Journal of General Internal Medicine
- Published
- 2006-10
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1075-1078
- ISSN
- 0884-8734 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-1497
- PMC
- PMC1831617
- OpenAlex
- W1997471138
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 9.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of General Internal Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Research Resources (K23RR019972, K23 RR01997201)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
- Keywords
- patient safety, provider acceptance, primary care physicians, breast biopsy, physician workload, patient anxiety
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Confidentiality, Data Collection, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Physicians, Family, Postal Service, Patient Satisfaction, Clinical Laboratory Techniques
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