[Do not allow the patient immediate access to test results].

Abstract

Over the last few years a considerable number of Dutch hospitals has introduced electronic patient charts. Many of these systems include an option for patients to have access to their own files, including 'real time' results of blood tests and scans. Although systems such as 'My Chart' should be supported in general, a problem might arise when patients have access to test results before these have been interpreted by the treating physician. Particularly for (cancer) patients being treated by a multidisciplinary team rather than a single physician, interpretation of test results and deciding on (non-) treatment is often organised through one or two (tumour) board meetings a week. Test results are often reinterpreted during such meetings and as it is generally acknowledged that multidisciplinary teams can improve the quality of clinical decision-making, systems such as My Chart should provide medical professionals the opportunity to discuss and reinterpret test results before patients themselves have access to them.