Consumers' Needs for Laboratory Results Portals: Questionnaire Study

Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the number of health care consumers (ie, patients, citizens, and laypeople) with access to their laboratory results through portals. However, many portals are not designed with the consumer in mind, which can limit communication effectiveness and consumer empowerment.

We aimed to study design facilitators and barriers affecting consumer use of a laboratory results portal. We sought to identify modifiable design attributes to inform future interface specifications and improve patient safety.

A web-based questionnaire with open- and closed-ended items was distributed to consumers in British Columbia, Canada. Open-ended items with affinity diagramming and closed-ended questions with descriptive statistics were analyzed.

Participants (N=30) preferred reviewing their laboratory results through portals rather than waiting to see their provider. However, respondents were critical of the interface design (ie, interface usability, information completeness, and display clarity). Scores suggest there are display issues impacting communication that require urgent attention.

There are modifiable usability, content, and display issues associated with laboratory results portals that, if addressed, could arguably improve communication effectiveness, patient empowerment, and health care safety.