Patient Access to Lab Results in Stage 2 or 3 Meaningful Use?

Something is Happening

Last week on September 12th HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius proposed new rules “that would expand the rights of patients to access their health information…..the new rules would empower patients and allow them to gain access to test results reports directly from labs.”

You can expect some push back on this as it threatens the well-established patriarchal culture that dominates most health care delivery patterns. Many providers believe that best practice is having all lab results first vetted by a provider so they can be properly discussed with the patient in the appropriate context. We are entering a phase of health care transition where we can expect the inevitable friction caused by the collision of two worlds, Health 1.0 and Health 2.0.

When I worked as a Clinical Manager in a large specialty practice we always dreaded those patients who asked too many questions about medications, treatments, and lab results. We definitely didn’t want to walk into an exam room and have to talk to a patient about what they read on the internet. We assumed they were incapable of understanding the complexity of their condition. “Just be a good compliant patient and leave the thinking to us” was our mantra. Little did I realize those patients were the vanguard of a swelling army that would be demanding direct involvement in their health care. I didn’t get it then, but I do now. I applaud this rule aimed at empowering patients by Secretary Sebelius. It is a bold move and she will be criticized by some providers and medical associations. That is to be expected. There will be push back because this action challenges the status quo.

Change is happening rapidly in health care and what we used to think was best for patients is being swept into new paradigms of who is ultimately responsible for a patient’s healthcare. Letting patients have direct access to their lab results is the opening salvo in the debate that will answer that question. Access to lab results is just the tip of the iceberg for what will be coming in Stages 2 and 3 of Meaningful Use.

Bob Dylan said it best 46 years ago: “Because something is happening here but you don’t know what it is. Do you, Mister Jones?”

Jim Tate is a nationally recognized expert on the CMS EHR Incentive Program, certified technology and meaningful use and author of The Incentive Roadmap® The Meaningful Use of Certified Technology: Stage 1.