Using new technologies to deliver test results in primary care: structured interview study of patients’ views

Background: An increasing number of blood tests are being performed in primary care. Informing patients of results takes up a considerable proportion of practice-staff time. The use of new technologies may be more time-efficient for staff but little is known about the acceptability to patients. Objective: To determine patient attitudes towards the use of three technologies – short message service (SMS), webpage and email – for the delivery of laboratory results. Design: Structured interview. Methods: Two hundred patients were interviewed in two general practices in Lothian, Scotland. Satisfaction with current methods and preferred methods of obtaining test-results were assessed. Patients were asked about their current access to different technologies and their favourability to using such technologies for receiving results and their views on appropriate content and information security. Results were analyzed by age, sex and educational attainment using x2 test. Results: A total of 79.5% of patients had mobile phones, 53% used SMS, 46.5% had internet, and 37.5% used e-mail. E-mail, SMS and webpage was the favoured delivery system for 53.3%, 37.1% and 33.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Patients were favourable towards e-mail but not SMS or a webpage. The main concern over the three technologies was information security. New technology may be useful for delivering results but patients will have to be persuaded that any such system is reliable and secure.