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The Patient Portal—Help or Hindrance?
We’ve always talked about quick access to all the information we want, when we want it. Gone are the days of ‘snail’ mail and encyclopedias. Now we have Patient Portals! And they are here to stay!
In 2016 the Cures Act went into effect, but the part that pertained to access to patient records wasn’t effective until April 2021. The Dept of Health and Human Services began enforcing the rule which declared that a hospital or doctor must allow access to a person’s health information. Failure to do so could result in fines for the doctor and hospital. Thus, the Patient Portal.
The result is that as soon as you have lab work, x-rays, CT scans, or a diagnostic test, YOU will receive the information (often before the doctor does.). This has led to much confusion and fright for many patients. A test result, read by a patient, out of context, or without a doctor’s explanation, can lead to confusion and anxiety and un-necessary emotional harm. I know this personally, when I received the results of my MRI well before my doctor. Seeing a report that stated “new lesions in areas of the brain,” really freaked me out!
In today’s world of instant gratification with computers, the emotional cost of instant access can be high.
- How have you been able to handle reports on the Patient Portal? What suggestions do you have for other members?
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You're right, these portals aren't all the same. Actually, I'm on portals at two different hospitals, and my experience is similar to yours regarding making appointments through the portal. Both portals let you make appointments for some providers, but not all. For some you have to call a central scheduling line. What I like about one of the portals is that it allows you to put yourself on a waiting list in case an earlier appointment becomes available. And if one does, they automatically contact you to see if you want to take the earlier availability. But the other portal doesn't have that option.
What I like about the portals is that when I go in for blood draws, some of the results are already in the portal before I get home...and I don't live far from the facilities.
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1 ReactionHi, Elizabeth,
Yes, all portals are not the same. It sounds like Mayo's patient portal is great and very user friendly. The MyChart portals that I use are both generally really good, but there are a few applications that need to be a little more user friendly. But I do like using these portals and the independence and flexibility it gives me. I, too, like that I'm able to pull up information whenever I want without waiting for a doctor to get in touch with me. Like you, I also appreciate the fact that test results are posted fairly quickly with some even getting to the portal before I get home from the blood draw. And it's also a plus that I can get and see the results even before the provider sees them. That allows me to review the results and determine what questions, if any, I might want to ask the doctor. Years ago, you had to wait for days or even a week for the doctor to call you with the results. So, I really do appreciate this modern technology.
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1 ReactionI use the Messages feature to list the questions that I have before an important appointment. It seems to make the appointment go more smoothly, and the doctor, or N.P, might actually need to look something up to be better prepared for the visit.
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4 Reactions@becsbuddy I’ve been surprised how much angst this right to see has caused!
I don’t look. It’s simple. I wait for my meeting with my oncologist and he tells me what I need/want to know.
I do know there are people who like to carefully read all of their results (and have become very adept at doing so). They like to be able to prepare questions at their leisure for when they meet their doctors. They then like to be able to refer back after seeing their oncologist again at their leisure. I don’t.
It’s a win win law. Look or don’t look. The choice is there 😊
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2 ReactionsI do the same. Works great.
Mayo now has a patient friendly report format where technical words are highlighted, and one puts the cursor over the word and a definition pops up. Works well.
Yes, it is a choice if one wants to look at reports before seeing the doctor. Unfortunately, one can not rely on the doctor telling the patient everything on the report. I have had two issues I had to follow up with other specialists and the specialist ordering the test did not mention to me.
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2 ReactionsUnfortunately, I've had similar experiences of doctors failing to mention important info on test results. And it was only after I pulled up the report to read it for myself that I became aware of those omissions by the doctors.
You just can't always blindly depend on the doctors to fully inform you.
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2 Reactions@vic83 It comes back to how good your oncologist is. and whether it’s safe to trust him/her 🤔
I have a wonderful oncologist and we’ve been together for 4 years now. He’s also a professor in the medical faculty at our top university as well as practising. With my rare appendix cancer he’s proven to be just the specialist for me.
He’s helped me with all sorts of referrals from day one - from diet and exercises to pelvic floor muscle scanning after debulking surgery, yearly colonoscopies, a possible melanoma biopsy after one surveillance scan, a specialist cancer therapist. Etc.
I’m comfortable he’s invested in me and across my health and well being as a package.
Now I’m NED we’re in surveillance stage. Quarterly tests have just moved to 6 monthly PET-CT scans with blood tests remaining quarterly. I know I can phone him up and he’ll bring them forward if I feel I need to.