Utilization and utility of clinical laboratory reports with graphical elements

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Pathology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Graphical elements in reports can enhance information conveyance compared to text.
• Previous studies have not quantified clinician value for graphical reporting features.
• This study investigates factors influencing the utilization of graphical elements in laboratory reports.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing clinician utilization of laboratory reports with graphical elements.
• To assess the relative clinical utility of graphical elements in laboratory reports.
• To provide utilization data for laboratories considering graphical reporting.

Main Methods:

• A pilot project at ARUP Laboratories developed online enhanced laboratory test reports with graphical elements.
• Clinician access to 48 reportable tests over 22 months was monitored.
• Descriptive statistics, regression, and meta-analysis were used to evaluate report utilization.

Main Results:

• Median download rate was 8.6% with significant heterogeneity across tests.
• Reports with graphical elements were not consistently downloaded more often than text-only reports.
• Recently implemented tests and those with abnormal results showed higher download rates (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:

• Graphical information may offer clinical utility for specific tests, especially less frequent or abnormal results.
• Utilization data can serve as a benchmark for other laboratories implementing graphical reporting.
• High heterogeneity suggests graphical elements may not always add significant clinical utility, particularly if redundant.