Test Results Too Soon???
November 30, 2023
Dear Everyone Who Makes Decisions Within Medical Systems,
I appreciate some of the changes that have happened over the years to provide more information and access to patients.
There is a downside though. Our family and other people I love have experienced some things that appear to be common practices.
Please, please consider that some of these systems negatively impact those you are working to serve.
While access to patient portals like MyChart provide quick information, it becomes problematic when patients have access to highly upsetting news without a doctor calling first to provide context, clarity, and reassurance. It is important medical professionals contact patients before information and diagnoses are put into a portal when the information can be heavy and hard.
When findings and pathology reports from tests are entered into a portal, they must be free from subjective and inflammatory language. For example, using the word “worrisome” in a testing narrative without a doctor to explain the context does, you guessed it, cause someone to worry.
When giving a visit summary to a patient, a standard heading on the first page should not be titled “Problems.” This word is not clinical nor objective. Perhaps consider using the word, “Diagnoses” instead.
When listing information under a heading such as “Problems,” please stop using subjective language about a patients weight. Especially when the patient is a minor. Factual information makes sense to include. Subjective language can cause long-term negative consequences and reinforces damaging messages about bodies.
Language matters. The words and systems used in the medical community have an impact on others. Please consider ways in which you can impact people positively to reduce harm.
Sincerely,
Jenn Check
P.S. Feel free to share. I welcome it!
UPDATE: I’m a big fan of solutions-focused thinking. I’m not an IT expert. And it seems like it would be possible to have some criteria for test results and, if they meet the criteria and are “worrisome,” a button could be selected before sending the results to a portal that would notify the doctor who ordered the test to review the results and contact the patient, then the doctor could push a button to drop the results into the portal. I know it would not be as simple as this, but the idea may have merit.