More Americans are learning of devastating health diagnoses through their phones and computers instead of personally from their doctors because of a federal requirement that people receive immediate access to medical test and scan results, from routine bloodwork to MRIs.
This shift has sparked a debate in the medical community about whether instant information empowers patients or harms them.
The new medical landscape resulting from a bipartisan law promoting transparency has exposed fault lines in a stressed health-care system where the promises of technological advancements are undercut by the heavy workloads foisted on medical professionals.
As more people receive troubling results online at the same time as their doctors – often waiting days or weeks for treatment plans – medical associations have been pushing to give doctors more time to release records revealing cancer and other grim diagnoses so patients don’t have to bear the news alone.
Mike Day’s cancer …