Survey on Laboratory Test Results Access in an Ambulatory Setting

In recent years, the landscape of laboratory medicine has undergone significant transformation with the advent of autoverification technologies. These innovations facilitate the real-time delivery of patient test results directly to electronic health records (EHRs) that allows for efficiency in healthcare delivery. In addition, many but not all healthcare systems worldwide have integrated patient portals that allow individuals to access their test results promptly, fostering possible patient engagement and promoting informed health decisions. However, there are debates about some ethical challenges that highlight the delivery of sensitive tests without practitioner (nurse, doctor) review.

As laboratory professionals play a central role in the generation and management of test results, their perspectives on immediate electronic patient access (ie without delay) to laboratory data are vital to understanding the broader implications of these technologies. This survey seeks to gather insights from laboratory medicine professionals across the globe regarding their attitudes towards the real-time disclosure of test results in the ambulatory care settings following autoverification. By exploring these professional opinions, we aim to identify common practices, ethical challenges, and areas for improvement in the universal delivery and access of laboratory results.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
No individual responses will be presented, and the privacy of individual respondents will be respected: the answers will be kept strictly confidential and only used for the purposes of this research.

The IFCC Task Force on Ethics appreciates your insights and contributions to this important survey.