Currently submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Feb 24, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 24, 2026 - Apr 21, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Patient-Reported Experiences with Viewing and Understanding Test Results in Patient Portals: A Survey Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
The 21st Century Cures Act information blocking regulations led to many health care providers (HCPs) altering policies to electronically release test results to patients immediately upon their availability.
Objective:
To understand how often patients view results in the patient portal before hearing from their HCP, and whether they are given the option to decide how results are communicated.
Methods:
Using data from the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey on U.S. adults who received recent test results via patient portal (N=6,045), we examined whether patients viewed test results before hearing from their HCP, were given the option to decide how test results were communicated, and understood results viewed before hearing from an HCP.
Results:
70% of patients who received results viewed them in their patient portal, most of whom viewed results before hearing from their HCP (58% overall). 28% of patients and 33% of portal users reported being given the option to decide whether they wanted to receive test results before hearing from their HCP. Two-thirds of patients understood results they viewed in their patient portal before hearing from their HCP (66%).
Conclusions:
While most patients viewed results before discussing with their HCP, only one-third reported being given the option to decide how results would be communicated and two-thirds of patients who viewed immediately released results understood their implications. Clearly presenting the option to decide when test results are communicated and incorporating patient preferences in portal communications could help empower patients and mitigate potential worry.
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