10/30/2024
Op-Ed: Claire Wilson Sikes, MPAS, PA-C delivers "Right on Time: Navigating Patient Results in a Digital Age"
Picture this: It’s a busy Sunday evening in the Emergency Department. You're midway through your shift, ready to update the patient in room 12 with their CT scan results. As you enter, you’re met with frowns. The patient’s wife and daughter look at their phones and say, “We had his results 30 minutes ago. What took you so long?” You realize that while you were tending to a 5- year-old’s lip laceration in room 7, the results came through.
Or consider this: It’s Tuesday, and your clinic is fully booked. You're still catching up from a double-booked Monday. Your medical assistant informs you that a patient you saw on Friday has called three times that morning, anxious to understand their lab results. You glance at your watch; it’s not even 10 a.m., and you haven't received any urgent alerts.
Then there’s the text from your parents, who send screenshots of your father’s blood test results. “Can you tell us what this means? His doctor hasn’t explained anything yet.”
Many of us experience these scenarios multiple times a week—if not daily.
The frustrating part isn’t that patients have access to their results; as providers, we want our patients to be informed about their health. Empowering patients to take ownership of their care is crucial.
The real issue lies in timing. When a patient discovers concerning findings, like potential malignancy, from their smartphone before I have a chance to deliver the news in person—before I can offer comfort and empathy—that's a problem. We want our patients to feel valued, yet the current system often undermines this goal.
So, what can we do to mitigate the feelings of being unvalued which patients experience when they receive their results discordant from a professional interpretation?
In the ER, part of my role involves managing expectations and guiding patients through their care journey. For instance, when informing the parents of a 15-year-old that an X-ray will take about an hour to be read, I help them plan the rest of their day. Explaining the process to patients enhances their understanding and overall experience. While I sometimes feel like a broken record, repeating the same information, I’ve found that most patients appreciate the clarity and reassurance.
Regardless of where we work, we’re trained to incorporate customer service into our clinical practice, from explaining the flow of a visit to using frameworks like AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, Thank You). As PAs, we know how to do this and we do it quite well.
Recently, I’ve questioned why I haven’t applied the same proactive communication to how I deliver results. I’ve let technology dictate the narrative, often ignoring its superiority in efficiency and speed. I challenge myself—and you, the reader—to acknowledge this reality. By informing patients that they may receive results before we have the chance to discuss them, I’m not conceding defeat to technology; I’m setting appropriate expectations.
Imagine this: It’s a busy Sunday shift. After assessing your fifth patient, you discuss potential diagnoses for their abdominal pain and plan to order labs and a CT scan. Before leaving the room, you tell the patient and their family, “You may get your results on your phone while I’m with another patient, but I’ll be back to discuss them as soon as I can. If there’s anything urgent, lab or radiology will contact us immediately. In the meantime, feel free to ask any questions.”
Or picture this: It’s a Friday afternoon, and you’re seeing one of your favorite patients for a maintenance visit. At the end of the exam, you say, “Ms. Gamble, I’ll have you go over to the lab for some blood work today. You’ll likely get the results this evening, but I’ll review them with you on Monday or Tuesday. If anything urgent arises, we’ll both be notified, and we can discuss a plan together.”
Finally, you ask your dad about his recent appointment with his GP and he tells you he got some blood work back but is assured it will be discussed with him in two days. He isn’t upset, he isn’t worried, and he’s not asking for your free medical advice.
By communicating effectively about processes in modernized healthcare, we can enhance patient understanding and satisfaction while maintaining our essential role in their care. Let's embrace
this challenge together.
Claire Wilson Sikes, MPAS, PA-C is an emergency medicine PA with Mercy Health - US Acute Care Solutions.