Patients Prefer to Receive Test Results on the Internet

A new study finds that most patients are more comfortable receiving sensitive test results through password-protected websites or portals.

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC; Washington DC, USA) conducted a survey among 409 participants to test the desirability of diverse methods of communication when receiving three different kinds of test results: common tests such as blood cholesterol and colonoscopy results; non-HIV sexually transmitted diseases (STIs); and genetic testing. The seven methods of communications surveyed were a password-protected patient portal website, phone voicemail, personal email, letter, home voicemail, fax, and mobile phone text messaging. The survey did not include in-person communications.

The results showed that in all categories, patients were least comfortable receiving information via fax. Half or more preferred receiving cholesterol or colonoscopy results in four methods: password protected patient portal websites, personal voicemail, personal email, or letter; the majority did not want to receive a home voicemail, mobile text message, or a fax. For receiving results of STIs, 51% of participants preferred password-protected websites. No single method was preferred for genetic test results; the closest, at 46%, was also password-protected websites. The study was published in the November 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

“Communication with patients may need to be on a case-by-case basis; every individual may have a personal preference. With highly sensitive medical results such as genetic test results, patients may not trust the privacy of methods such as personal voicemail or e-mail,” said lead author Assistant Professor of human science Jeannine LaRocque, PhD. “Password-protected websites provide an added level of security, which may be necessary as these tests become more prevalent in primary care practices.”

“It is not uncommon for a physician to call or email a patient with results to common tests without any idea of which is preferred in different contexts, but this study makes clear that the majority of people prefer something different than what we've been doing,” said senior author Daniel Merenstein, MD, director of research programs in the department of family medicine at GUMC.

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