Patients back blood test results e-mail

Published on Monday 21 December 2009 09:51

A MAJORITY of patients would prefer to receive results of blood tests by e-mail rather than having to make an appointment with a GP, according to a study conducted in two Lothian practices.

Researchers interviewed 200 patients, and 53 per cent said they preferred practices to send their test results by e-mail.

Just 38 per cent said they wanted to be contacted by text message, though, and their reticence was chiefly put down to concerns over information security.

James Grayston, lead author and a medical student at the University of Edinburgh, said informing patients of results took up a 'considerable proportion' of practice-staff time.

He said: "New technologies may be more time-efficient for staff but little is known about the acceptability to patients.

"The main concern over the three technologies was information security. New technology may be useful for delivering results but patients will have to be persuaded that any such system is reliable and secure."