Automated Tool Helps Physicians Communicate Test Results
Patients report higher satisfaction with a computerized test results system
Boston, MA – There are few systems that support effective communication of test result to outpatients, which often results in a lack of educational information presented to patients leading to dissatisfaction. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that patients who received their test results from physicians using an automated management system were more satisfied than patients whose physicians did not use the system. These findings are published in the August XX, 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
“There are a number of potential reasons why patients are more satisfied with this automated system,” said Eric Poon, MD, at BWH and lead author of the study. “The system provides workflow improvements, basic interpretations of results for patients and a template for sending patients their test results. All of these facilitate better communication between patient and physician,” he added.
Researchers instituted an automated test results notification system, Results Manager (RM), which was embedded into the existing electronic health record. RM provides tracking of test results and a continually updated summary page gives patient information including the date of the visit when the test was ordered, the test result type, and if the results were abnormal or critical. From RM, physicians can easily and quickly generate patient notification letters, phone discussion and emails, and can also view lab result details and acknowledgement that a provider has viewed test results.
To determine patient satisfaction, surveys were administered to 570 patients who visited 26 different ambulatory clinics that implemented RM as well as clinics that did not both before and after implementation of RM. Researchers found that the implementation of RM significantly increased patient satisfaction with test results communication and that those patients were more satisfied with the information they received for treatments and conditions associated with their results.
“Information technology is a powerful tool that can be used, when proven beneficial, to both improve communications with patients and ensure safe, quality care,” Poon concluded.
This research was funded by grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Library of Medicine.
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 747-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network. BWH is committed to excellence in patient care with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery. The BWH medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in quality improvement and patient safety initiatives and its dedication to educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, involving more than 800 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by more than $400M in funding. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information about BWH, please visit www.brighamandwomens.org.
Send
Feedback to: 
