The Patient Portal—Help or Hindrance?

I like getting my test results quickly on the patient portal. Often the doctor prepares me ahead of time for possible results and what they mean. If I don’t understand the results I go to Google Scholar and search the words or phrases. I have found that I can search an entire sentence in my results and get a readout of what it means. My caveat is that it’s good to learn as much as you can before seeing the doctor, allowing you to take in more information more easily, but the doctor will put the results into a wider context and your results might not be as bad as you think.

Boy, you got that all right!

I don’t care how my doctor feels. I pay for these tests. I deserve to have the results. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than waiting days or a week or more to see your doctor after a test is performed. I WANT to know whether I have anything to worry about. Nothing worse than wasted energy thinking the worst, only to be told when you finally get to see the doctor that everything is fine! I’m 77 years old. It makes me sick to see how the medical profession has changed from caring GPs to a mostly impersonal industry where we’re just another piece of meat. There are times we have to bite the bullet and get in line, but I put more trust in naturopaths and chiropractors for my routine medical care. They spend more time and are more compassionate than what I get in a 10-minute “wellness” appointment with my PCP, where I spend more time in the waiting room than I do with the doctor.

@becsbuddy, @artscaping, @gingerw, @larryh123, and all...

Well, my goodness. A great discussion about finally having access to our own bodies' information. Finally! I'm horrified at waiting weeks or longer to hear from your doctor with the results of testing, sometimes testing that may be life-changing. That's torture for many patients. And as I'm now experiencing, I had bloodwork done 2 weeks ago and still haven't gotten anything from my doctor that makes sense. Only a sentence from a nurse I don't know who obviously hadn't read my file nor even glanced at the messages I sent prior explaining some history with these issues. This is not my Mayo portal, but My Chart that's a new portal based on the Mayo design using the same company. Finally, they have a decent, working portal...but the offices must catch up with the system. The office staff isn't able to respond for some reason. So, I'm ready to go elsewhere for my PCP...

I'm actually considering a new primary care physician, even though I adore this doctor with whom I've worked for over 25 years because he's not responded to my direct questions re the test results on the portal. That isn't acceptable to me - I need answers.

You know, as a patient I spent decades attempting to get basic information and explanations about symptoms and tests. Decades trying to get doctors to hear me. Then, here came the Mayo Patient Portal and Connect! Wow! I was thrilled, and am still thrilled. No other system is so responsive, no other doctors are so open and responsive. I get many results by the time I get home after the testing.

You know, I've been on this health journey for so long, most of my life, and experienced some horrid doctors and poor systems. The change to Mayo was a huge breath of fresh air. In fact, I could begin breathing and living with less anxiety and stress. Mayo has saved my life and my sanity. I'm so thankful for the kindness and real caring exhibited by the Mayo staff and professionals in person and on the portal.

Yes, there is information available I don't understand, but I'm fully capable of researching responsibly, on legitimate sites, usually Mayo and Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, and such. I'm getting good info and the doctor either via phone or the portal messaging talks with me and I better understand the discussion. After all, it's my body, my tests, and my decisions and now I am a vital part of the discussion. Finally!

May you all be blessed as you walk this health journey and become even more of your own advocate with a good understanding of your issues. Blessings. elizabety

I wonder how our doctors feel about us seeing all this information ahead of time and posing questions to them after we see what we only half understand.

It's a great help. Is there room for a few improvements, of course, always will be. For me, we have "My Chart" and I love it!

Hello:
Ys- what you are saying about seeing test results and even comments in. A visit summary that raise an eyebrow can make one anxious.
I would remind everyone that your doc is a part of your healhcaree team - which you are also a part of. As such - another great feature of he portal is the messaging.
When I have a question or concern I always send a message to my doc.
You can then ask questions about your concerns.
Maybe I am lucky - but i have 4 docs at mayo and all are pretty responsive to the portal messaging. You might have to give it a day or maybe 2.

If you have a concern that you want to actually want to speak to someone about - you can ask for a call back.
I’ve ben with 2 o my docs for over 10 years - no sure if that has anything to do with it - but I normally get a callback the next day. Sometimes I will get a call from one of them asking what my questions were. You might have to be a little like the squeaky wheel - but keep asking - you shouldn't have to wait long.

So yes the test results can be a double edged sword - there are other tools in the portal that I feel are there to help with these issues so you aren't left with test results and google.

Use them asa total package. Dont feel you are left to be a radiologist or need a medical terminology degree to be in the loop with your healthcare. The portal gives visibility. You and the doc give it substance.

I’m not sure what other portals you have utilized from other heath providers - I can say that my experience with the mayo portal to be top notch. Been using it for several years - at least 4.

Sorry to be long winded - I was having some issues and when seeing several specialists and they all have access to the same info - but sometimes look at their area of expertise and may not see other clues that might or might not be of value.
In my case I was tracking some bloodwork. I noted that one level was consistently 3-4x the normal value. I had to bring that up and question it. My questioning led to a test and genetic counseling to verify I had another degenerative disease.

Because of the portal I was able to show the doc the other pieces of the puzzle. The communication via the portal was a great tool.

Use the portal to get conversations started - many times from test results. Use your healthcare team for answers.

I like having immediate access to medical tests. I use the computer to help me understand difficult words and yes there can be misunderstandings. However, overall it makes me more prepared to have an informed discussion when I meet with the doctor. I also enjoy the "After Visit Notes" as it allows me to read what the doctor thinks my problem is and what he recommends as a treatment. Sometimes I find errors. The doctor may have written one thing where as I said something else. Usually, they are minor points. It's interesting that you say "Patient Portals" are required because I find not all doctors have them. These are the doctors I generally avoid.

Good evening all. I can't believe I opened my screen to these posts. Here is why........ the last two days have been about tests for a new symptom I have. My life partner and I have spent the last two hours with a second device set to a medical dictionary. We had to look up words and phrases on one device and hope our knowledge would somehow translate to an understanding of what might be going on at this time.

One of the doctors seemed almost excited about the fact that his share of the testing would be on the portal within an hour to demonstrate how quickly the computers could spit out the analysis. I would have gladly stayed to hear him explain all the terminology and translate it into a diagnosis for us. So you are so right....don't get overly anxious until you have someone who can relate the results in your "need to know" language.

Chris

It's definitely a great help, I feel like I have some ownership over my information. I can send a message to my doctor if I need to, and put in for refills. It actually helps me to be more prepared and not caught off guard so I can ask the right questions but yes take the results with a grain of salt until you see your doctor.