Automated email notifications may increase physician awareness of patient test results pending at discharge, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Researchers gave some groups of physicians access to a secure email network for test result notifications, while some physicians practiced as normal. They interviewed the physicians 72 hours after patient test results pending at discharge had been finalized.
While 76 percent of physicians who had received automated emails with test results were aware of the results after the patient had been discharged, only 38 percent of physicians who practiced as normal were aware of the results.
Researchers concluded a notification system for post-discharge test results could improve potential patient safety hazards associated with overlooking test results, some of which may be medically actionable.
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