Three Common Reporting Methods for Patient Lab Results

Do you ever get frustrated from not hearing back from the doctor about your test results?  Have you ever waited a long time before caving and contacting your physician to get your lab test results?  It can be difficult to wait for medical lab test results to come back from the doctor.  It can make you antsy, impatient, or even uneasy to await results from the lab.  Sometimes people that are waiting for their test results simply don't know exactly how to retrieve the information from the lab.  Often times, the doctor will tell you the method in which you will receive your results, but sometimes they may forget.  In fact, a pathology lab may reach out to you directly or grant you access to an online portal.  There are a few common ways to receive your patient lab test results.

Phone Calls

Traditionally, many practitioners called their patients to report their lab test results.  Once the results were given to the medical professionals, they were able to determine a diagnosis and then immediately contact the patient.  However, over time, medical facilities haven't been making as many phone calls to report these results anymore.  They have been changing the methods in which they report these results.

Web Portal

When your sample is sent to a pathology lab to be tested, they will sometimes give you information on how to set up an account on their web portal to access your results.  This is one of the easiest and quickest methods to receive your lab results.  Also, it provides you with direct access to your information and profile, which gives you the same information as your doctor.  Web portals may also offer you different suggestions, improvements, or advice based on the results of your test.  This resource can be valuable in dealing with your lab results.

Mail and Fax

Many pathology labs, including ours, still use mail and fax machines in order to relay results to patients and medical facilities.  This may take a little longer, but it is still effective.  Patients can then have a printed copy that they can file away for their records.  Even though they are moving toward a more electronic method of relaying lab test results, some people still prefer paper copies of their medical results.

These are just a few of the common ways many of our dermatology patients receive test results from our lab.  Often times, the lab will communicate with the doctors before they call or provide access to their results, and this can lead doctors to forget to call in the results to the patient.  However, all patients are legally able to access their lab test results whenever they are issued.  If you are in need of specialized dermatopathology in Pittsburgh, PA, contact us today to hear about how we can help you.