Availability: Vital Emergency · Vital Inpatient · Vital Urgent Care
Further investigations into the patient's condition, such as labs or imaging, can take a long time in the ER or Urgent Care. It may seem to patients like nothing is happening while they are waiting to be seen next. This feature reminds patients of the work going on behind the scenes and lets them see the status of their lab and imaging tests. The wait times for the results are currently pre-configured for each facility.
Depending on the level of integration with a facility, the patient may have more or less access to their lab results.
Description | Example |
Common Labs and Imaging Education, If the patient doesn't have any tests, they will see a card that gives them information and educational videos about typical tests they may experience during their visit. This also applies when data feeds related to labs and imaging are not available for a facility. The feature shows frequent labs and imaging tests and their typical wait times. It can also display a link to the patient portal that the patient can use to check their results. | The card in the main visit page, Examples of typical tests, Information about the typical test (including video content) |
Test Results, Once the patient has test results, we show them a progress bar on the visit page that details how many tests have been ordered and how many have results returned. When the patient clicks into this tab, they are taken to the labs page, which shows the results of their tests and any education relating to that test. | The card on the visit page, Status details for each test, Summary of results, Details about results |
Vital Emergency: The results of labs and imaging are delayed to give the attending physician time to have any consultations with the patient before they are released.
Vital Urgent Care: Urgent Care facilities implement a 10-minute laboratory result delay during active patient visits, to ensure physician-patient consultation occurs prior to result release. Upon visit completion, results are subject to a separate configurable delay period so providers can conduct appropriate follow-up interventions (for example, the next day when abnormal findings are identified). This two-tiered delay system prioritizes clinical oversight and patient safety by maintaining physician control over result disclosure and subsequent care coordination. Clicking into test results shows the breakdown of what was normal vs. out of range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you support educational content for pediatric patients?
For pediatric patients (those patients < 18 years old), we also show specific pediatric videos for each of those tests.
For which languages do you support Lab and Imaging educational content?
We currently only support labs and imaging educational content in English.
Is the labs and imaging educational content accurate?
Yes, our labs and imaging educational content is derived from MedlinePlus.
Do you display all orders and results to the patient?
No. Only approved orders and results are displayed to the patient.
How soon are results displayed to patients?
This varies by setting:
Vital Emergency: Results can be delayed per facility request. We recommend making results available as soon as they are received.
Vital Urgent Care: For an active visit, results are available 10 minutes after lab finalization. Results can be delayed post-visit per facility request.
How long are results viewable for?
Results stay viewable for as long as the patient has access to the app. App access lasts 14 days from the patient's most recent login, and is extended each time they log in again through a new SMS link (see Login).
Are sensitive results shown to minors?
No. Sensitive results are not shown to minors.
Does the lab have to validate the interface and all results?
No. If the data is consumed from the EHR and not the Laboratory Information System (LIS), then the lab does not have to validate the data. GEN.48500 Interface Result Integrity from the CAP Checklist pertains to direct interfaces with the LIS. Since Vital consumes data from the EHR, the lab is not responsible for the validity of this information.
How does Vital handle lab result releases to patients?
Vital has measures in place to prevent patients from receiving their results before speaking with their ordering physician. The system allows facilities to configure time delays for result releases based on result type and department.
Can facilities customize when results are released to patients?
Yes. Facilities can set specific time delays for result releases. These delays can be configured independently for normal, abnormal, and critical results, and can also vary by department or facility area. For Urgent Care specifically, these delays apply to the post-visit period, after the initial 10-minute active-visit delay.
What's an example of how result release timing might be configured?
For example, an Emergency facility might choose to release:
Normal ED results immediately after lab finalization
Abnormal results 30 minutes after lab finalization
Critical results 1 hour after lab finalization
How does Vital determine which results are normal, abnormal, or critical?
Vital uses the same lab machine ranges that your EHR uses for categorization. This ensures consistency between what patients see in Vital and what appears in your facility's systems.
How does Vital's release timing compare to standard patient portals?
Most facilities set Vital's release timing to match their existing patient portal. However, it's worth noting that standard patient portals typically cannot differentiate between result types (normal, abnormal, critical) and release all results according to a single timeline.