Immediate access to test results “comes with some wrinkles,” doctor says

Patients can access their own health records — including test results — as soon as they’re available. While it might sound beneficial, in some cases, people are receiving life-changing diagnoses before their doctors have a chance to speak with them.

The accessibility is due to legislation that went into effect in 2021 called the 21st Century Cures Act. 

It is designed to give patients easier access to electronic health records and quicker access to medical innovations, but experts say it comes with an unintended side effect.

“It is a great idea, but it comes with some wrinkles,” said CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.

For example, patients can see information like cancer screening results on their own before a doctor delivers the news. While it’s best to discuss the results with your doctor, some believe the ability to access the information can be beneficial.

“Especially with paper records we would say, ‘Well, no news is good news,’ … well, no news may not be good news because maybe the doctor never got the result, maybe they got the result and didn’t read it, they got the result, read it and didn’t realize it was abnormal, they try to call you … so it is a good idea,” LaPook said.

He explained a doctor can ensure the results are not immediately released, but to do that it would have to follow certain criteria.

“It has to be because they think the results will cause the patient to have physical harm to themselves or to somebody else, not emotional,” LaPook said. “The patient, depending on the app that they’re in, can also say, ‘I don’t want to see the results.'”

LaPook’s oldest sister, Judy, had a similar experience a few years ago with blood test results. It was late at night when her phone dinged with a result of a blood test. It was a kidney test called BUN, Blood Urea Nitrogen. The result was “a little bit high” and abnormal, LaPook said.

His sister turned to the internet for answers.

“By the middle of the night it’s pointing her to renal dialysis sites, kidney transplant sites, and by 7 in the morning when she finally called me … she was kind of laughing at herself but also serious. I said, ‘no, you’re fine, and here’s why,'” LaPook said.

That’s why it’s crucial to have conversations with your doctor.

“At the end of the day you need to be available to those patients … and I love empowering patients,” LaPook said. “We are in this transition period now where they’re not doctors, they’re not clinicians and we need to educate them.”

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