While a new era of transparency under the Cures Act has spurred new studies and discourse, the resulting evidence related to implementation and patient outcomes largely focuses on current behaviors and attitudes, except for a small number of user experience studies. Looking ahead, we recommend that research on implementation and patient outcomes associated with the Cures Act use more rigorous and, when possible, objective methods, with a focus on optimizing test result communication for the needs of patients.
This research should include patients, informatics professionals, experts in human factors and user-centered design, and clinicians. It should also evaluate data from systems that have adopted more open access to health information even before passage of the Cures Act. This evidence is essential to inform recommendations on how best to optimize the impact of the 21st Century Cures Act and maximize its intended benefits.
