Is the provision of laboratory results via the Internet acceptable to patients? A survey of private patients in a large, specialist gynaecology practice.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this research project was to ascertain patients' views as to the acceptability of having their laboratory results communicated via the Internet. A database was designed to hold laboratory results on a web site.


METHODS
A survey was then prepared for patients of a private, specialist gynaecology practice, at whom the site was targeted.


RESULTS
Two hundred and thirty five patients responded to the questionnaire, which canvassed their views on the provision of results through this new modality. Of the 235 respondents, 190 professed to be users of the Internet in general. Of this group almost 60% used the laboratory results web site. Feedback was highly favourable with 87% of those who used the site stating that they would use it again in the future. The respondents as a whole rated the Internet as their preferred method for gaining their laboratory results, even if they had not used it in this instance. The number of patients who held concerns about the security of the site, or the PIN system used to access it, was significantly small. Neither of these possible problems seemed to be a barrier to patients' utilisation of the site.


CONCLUSIONS
The Internet-based laboratory results were well received by those who accessed them and the figures for those who would use the system again in the future suggest that once converted patients were more than likely to use the site again. With the increasing use of the Internet for the dissemination of all sorts of information, laboratory results hosted in this way can only become more and more favourably accepted by patients.
Brenner
Bernie
B
Pelvic Floor Clinic, Milford, Auckland, New Zealand.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003625:Data Collection; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires