Patients have expressed interest in being involved in medical decision making and desire access to their health information.6 Patients want to be notified of their test results, including normal and abnormal results,6'7 in less time than current norms. Although prompt direct notification of test results might help patients make decisions about their care, adequate data to support this idea are lacking. To our knowledge, only one US study has evaluated the effectiveness of direct notification (mailing of bone density test results in this case), but the study included a follow-up telephone call by a nurse educator. Patients who received this intervention were more likely to perceive timely reporting than patients who received usual care, but the effect on actual treatment received after 3 months was minimal.
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