Medical reports around the world are written in a way that ordinary patients cannot understand, which increases their anxiety. This is because these reports are usually written for specialist doctors such as surgeons or cancer specialists, not for patients.

A study by Dr. Katherine Lapedis of the University of Michigan and her colleagues sought to determine whether people could understand generic pathology reports and whether reports specifically designed for patients could improve their understanding.

• Get the right information about health –

According to the study published in the JAMA journal, Dr. Lapedis said that "patient-centered reports" present medical terms in simple language so that patients can get accurate information about their health. For example, while a general report contains a complex term like "prostatic adenocarcinoma", a patient-centered report simply calls it "prostate cancer".

For the study, 2,238 adults aged 55 to 84 years who had no history of prostate cancer were included. These people were given a hypothetical situation in which they got tested for urine related problems and the biopsy results were sent to them on an online portal. They were also asked about their level of anxiety after reading the report.

• This thing came out in the research-

Lapedis found in the study that most people did not understand even the general information. Only 39% of the people who read the general report could understand that they had cancer. On the other hand, 93% of the people who read the patient-centered report correctly understood that they had cancer.

It also showed that patients' level of anxiety matched their actual level of risk. The study authors suggest that hospitals should incorporate patient-centered reports into their process, so that patients can better understand their condition.