So, another one of those blessings that has come about from Obamacare (there are many that are easily demonstrated)- even though this is more a byproduct than a design- is that our medical lab results are now coming to us in a fashion that most of us can understand. (I do believe that is the longest sentence I have ever written!)
Urinanlysis, blood tests, even allergy testing results are now presented to us (not the medical practitioner) in a format that we can decipher the results. This year, the federal rules stipulated that we- the humans being poked and prodded- have the absolute right to see our test results. (Many states- under pressure from medical practitioners- outlawed this practice. But, federal rule trumps state laws.) Compliance MUST occur no later than 6 October 2014.
Now, practitioners still have first dibs on the results. We, the patients, can be subjected to up to a 30 day waiting period for many of these results. The idea behind this ‘stay’ is to insure that our practitioners can see them first and be able to “explain” the results to us. But, I expect that lag period to only be in play when the test data is less routine, or involve more complicated data. We’ll be getting our CBC’s and cholesterol results the same time the physician does now.
To insure that these results are not just gobbledygook that are presented to us, many lab vendors are now producing “graphical” results to display the numbers- and thereby explain where they lie on the scale of normal and troublesome. That is a very good thing. Because too many of us just blank out when presented with numbers and even more have no “health literacy”.
Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD and Nicole Exe, MPH (both of the University of Michigan), plus Holly Witteman, PhD (University of Laval, Quebec) published their research results recently in the Journal of Medical Internet Research that described our potential shortcomings. They sampled 1817 adults between 40 and 70 years of age, to determine their ability to read and comprehend medical results. More than 30% of the subjects had at least a college degree, while 24% only had completed or never finished high school. These subjects were all presented results that would be associated with type 2 diabetes, both in control and not.
For those patients who already had diabetes (which the authors considered evidence of health literacy for their purposes), correctly determining which results were problematic was more accurate. The more numerate (capable of understanding numbers easily) also were able to detect out-of-normal ranges directly. Only 38% of those patients without numeracy skills or health literacy would have reacted properly to the test results presented.
This is the primary reason why there is a 30 day lag before the results could be available to patients- to insure the doctor can provide the requisite literacy, the framing of the results. (Of course, for those of us with both those skills, this wait can seem interminable.)
I never had trouble getting my test results in the past, Roy. But then maybe I’m pushier than the average patient. 😉
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I didn’t either, Cathy- because of professional courtesy. But, I know my friends, clients, and children have had problems. (You may live in a state where the law did not preclude it…)
But, now it’s nationwide.
I have seen plenty tests with “old” results and they say directly whether a person’s result is inside or outside a range. I am not number literate, but it was obvious to me. Charts might help depending on the kind of chart.
The thing that would help the most is to have the test explained in simple English, i.e. A1C is a test to determine whether you have had your diabetes under control in the last 3 months. If your number is between this and that, this a good result. Here is your number. You are doing very well. (Or you need to talk to your doctor to help you get this under control.)
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Nice, Ann. My results were more like the ones I described. As were my ex-wife’s, my children’s, and my friends. Which is why I got to see them- to decipher for them what the numbers meant.
The graphical representation will help even more people! And, it will be more obvious if your number is JUST outside of normal versus far and away from normal…
Thanks for the visit and the comment.
I guess I have been pretty lucky then because for as long as I can remember, for any tests I have had done at the VA hospital here in Milwaukee, getting the results and having them explained to me has always been about one week after the test. Then again, Milwaukee has an outstanding VA Hospital staff as is also the VA clinic that I visit that is closer to where I live than is the hospital. For many of the tests they even give me a copy of the results that I can take home and keep in a binder where I can check my progress year over year.
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The VA was never subject to state rules on disclosure, Chef William.
And, it is a fantastic idea to maintain your data- so you can discern trends. That is the theoretical reasoning behind having a “primary physician”, so that someone knows you and can, hopefully, discern trends in your health- to help you avoid those catastrophic events that seemingly occur without reason.
Thanks for the comment and visit!
This side of the pond, we have our test results at the same time than our physician. usually, they are sent at the same time. I hadn’t realised that it wasn’t always the case. Silly me.
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Really? Maybe in England that is true. But, at least for my clients who live in Eastern France, that has not been true.
Glad to hear it, though!