The effects of web-based patient access to laboratory results in British Columbia: A patient survey on comprehension and anxiety

Background: web-based patient access to personal health information is limited but increasing in canada and internationally. objective: this exploratory study aimed to increase understanding of how web-based access to laboratory test results in british columbia (canada),which has been broadly available since 2010,affects patients' experiences. methods: in november 2013,we surveyed adults in british columbia who had had a laboratory test in the previous 12 months. using a retrospective cohort design,we compared reported wait-time for results,test result comprehension,and anxiety levels of service users who had web-based access to their test results (n=2047) with those of a general population panel that did not have web-based access (n=1245). results: the vast majority of service users (83.99%,95% ci 82.31-85.67) said they received their results within a few days