Many Patients Prefer To Access Radiology Results Online, Survey Finds

Many patients say they would rather receive radiology results through an  online portal than through more traditional notification methods, according to a study published in the Journal of the  American College of Radiology, CMIO reports.

Study Details

For the study, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North  Carolina invited adult outpatients to take an electronic survey. Fifty-three  patients responded to the questionnaire.

The electronic survey exposed each respondent to three simulated medical  situations in which radiology reports were described as normal, seriously  abnormal or indeterminate. For each scenario, participants were asked to  indicate how they would want to receive the radiology reports and what  educational resources would help them better understand the results.

Study Findings

Overall, 80% of respondents said they would prefer to receive the radiology  reports through an online portal instead of through traditional notification  methods like phone calls, mail or in-person consultations.

Researchers also found that:

• 60.2% of respondents said they would want to receive the radiology reports  immediately for the scenario involving normal results, while 28.3% said they  would want the results within three days;
• 45.3% said they would want to receive the radiology reports immediately for  the scenario involving abnormal results; and
• 45.3% the radiology reports immediately for the scenario involving  indeterminate results.

Respondents also cited interest in various educational resources that would  help them better understand the radiology reports, such as conversations with  physicians and Internet searches.

The study recommended that health care organizations using online portals  provide links to reliable online medical information to help patients understand  the results.

Study Limitations

Researchers noted that the study had certain limitations. For  example:

• The study sample included only those patients who agreed to take the  electronic survey, and those patients might already have been more inclined to  want online access to test results; and
• The study did not assess how online access to radiology reports would affect  patients’ anxiety level (Godt, CMIO, 4/3).

Source: iHealthBeat

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