Patient viewing and comprehension of immediately released test results.

Immediate release of test results following the 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule reshapes the diagnostic communication process. This research letter examines a cross-sectional effort exploring which patients view their results early and how well they understand them. Older adults, women, higher-income and digitally literate patients, and frequent social media users were more likely to view early results first. Lower comprehension was associated with medical-care discrimination, whereas stronger patient-centered communication and digital literacy were protective—highlighting a diagnostic safety gap beyond simply providing access.