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Medical / Legal Q&A:
FORWARDING LAB RESULTS TO PATIENTS
by Waldene Drake, RN, MBA
Vice President, Risk Management

Q: Is it OK to e-mail laboratory results to my patients who request them?

A: A recent California law (AB 2831, an act to amend California Health & Safety Code §123148) allows a physician to communicate laboratory test results by Internet posting or electronic means (including e-mail) if the guidelines below are followed:

• The patient must consent to receive laboratory results by Internet posting or other electronic means.
  
• The physician has reviewed the results and determined that the results are appropriate for transmission by electronic means.
  
• The results are restricted by the use of a secure personal identification number when delivered to a patient by electronic means.
  
• Staff may transmit results if acting on behalf of the physician.
  
• Charges, to either the patient or his or her insurer, must be explained to the patient at the time reports are requested.
  
• Results must be recorded in the medical record and provided to the patient in a reasonable time after their receipt in the physician’s office.
  
• Test results must be conveyed in plain language.
  
• By law, none of the following may be reported to the patient via Internet posting or electronic means (including e-mail): HIV results, presence of hepatitis infection, abuse or use of illegal drugs, or tissue results if they reveal a malignancy.
  
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