A new Texas law set to take effect on September 1 will change how patients receive sensitive medical test results. Under the new measure, physicians will have up to three days after finalizing certain test results to review and communicate findings directly to patients before the information is released electronically.
The law, Senate Bill 922, was passed by the 2025 Texas Legislature and authored by Senator Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) and Representative Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo). It applies specifically to results with a reasonable likelihood of showing malignancy or those that may reveal genetic markers.
“When Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 922 into law, he restored something we never thought we would need to fight for: the right for patients to receive life-changing medical results from their clinicians, and the right for physicians to deliver this information in a timely, informative, compassionate manner,” said Dallas oncologist David E. Gerber, MD. Dr. Gerber has worked for several years on improving how sensitive health information is released.
Pottsboro resident Cindy Lenert, a cancer patient of Dr. Gerber’s, welcomed the change. “It’s fantastic, I love it,” she said. “It’s just going to take a lot of anxiety away from the patient.”
Previously, federal rules under the 21st Century Cures Act required immediate release of health information through electronic portals since spring 2021. This often led patients like Ms. Lenert to see confusing or alarming test results before speaking with their doctors.
“I didn’t know what the heck I was reading, so I’m all upset, thinking, is this good? Is it bad?” Ms. Lenert recalled about her experience waiting for an explanation from her doctor.
Dr. Gerber noted that rapid release policies resulted in “confused and potentially traumatized patients.” He shared examples during legislative testimony representing the Texas Medical Association: “I have had patients learn that they have cancer from a smartphone notification in the middle of a business dinner, while reading a bedtime story to a 3-year-old child, and during a rush-hour commute.”
He estimated that as many as three out of four patients received pathology reports before their physician saw them. While quick access can be helpful in some cases, Dr. Gerber emphasized that context matters: “Although this bill places a brief pause on the electronic transfer of some test results to a patient, it allows for a physician to call a patient with the results at any time,” he said. “Giving the right information, rather than just the fastest information.”
For Ms. Lenert, learning about her scan results directly from her doctor provided reassurance: “He told me it was good news,” she said. “It had not spread, didn’t look like it was growing at all. He made me feel really good.”
