Medical Labs Make Test Results Easier for Patients to Understand

As more patients gain direct access to lab reports and test results, health care providers are offering new tools to help them navigate the maze of numbers and use the data to better manage their own care.

Individual patients now can see their results on a wide variety of medical tests including complete blood counts, urinalysis and allergy tests, under a federal rule that went into effect in April and pre-empted a number of state laws prohibiting disclosure to individuals. The results must be available on request within 30 days, no physician's authorization required. Laboratories have until Oct. 6 to comply.

Quest Diagnostics, which provides diagnostic information services to about 30% of U.S. adults a year, launched a new secure patient website, MyQuest by Care360, when the federal rule went into effect on April 7. Patients can view their lab results on the site at no charge within 48 to 72 hours in most states, or get them on a recently enhanced mobile app.

Rather than showing patients copies of the raw lab reports typically sent to doctors, Quest now offers graphs and other visual depictions of results for common markers like cholesterol and blood sugar, putting them in relation to reference or normal ranges and including links to more detailed information.

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Originally published in The Wall Street Journal