Talking With Your Doctor About Lab Results: Why It Matters

Key Takeaways:

• The numbers and reference ranges on lab results can be confusing to contextualize on your own. Your healthcare provider can help by interpreting what they mean for you based on your medical history and lifestyle.

• Preparation leads to better conversations. To make your appointment as productive as possible, bring prior results, share relevant health updates, and have questions ready.

• Talking to your doctor about your lab results helps distill your next steps. A discussion can clarify whether follow-up tests, treatment changes, or lifestyle adjustments are needed, plus how to safely go about these changes.
  

When you see your blood work results landed in your inbox, it’s natural to feel a pang of curiosity, pulling you to dive right in and start interpreting your own lab report.

But bear in mind that it’s common to receive your results before your provider has a chance to review them. In this case, you’ll be reading numbers and levels without the helpful context a provider can offer. In fact, reading your own labs can raise more questions than answers.

While you may not be able to resist taking a peek, you should always plan to speak to your healthcare provider about the results and what all the numbers and reference ranges mean.

Here, learn why this conversation is important, plus doctor-approved tips for how exactly to go about it.

Laboratory test results play a major role in clinical decision-making, informing about 70 percent of healthcare decisions. Needless to say, the tool is a crucial component of taking charge of your health. Research also supports blood tests being of vital importance for monitoring and managing chronic diseases.

But they aren't a metric best used at face value. Rather, they’re most useful when a professional can review them in the context of your complete health profile. Typically, you’ll be able to see if your results are within normal range just by giving them a quick scan. But this can sometimes lead to concern where there isn’t a reason for any. 

For example, it’s not always clear whether it's preferable for a result to be “negative” or “positive.” And sometimes, there are reasons why it’s expected — and not medically worrisome — for you to fall outside of a typical reference range for certain biomarkers.

 Having a conversation about your results with a healthcare provider allows you to make sense of the numbers, ranges, and abbreviations you’re seeing — in a way that’s personalized to your health profile.

Discussing your results with a provider is “critical for understanding what they mean and what they can tell you about your health,” says Mike Bohl, MD, a general practitioner and Senior Director of Medical Content & Authority at Hims & Hers. “Labs can give you objective numbers, but to understand what those numbers truly mean for you, results should always be interpreted in the context of your medical history, symptoms, and lifestyle.”

Discussing your blood work or lab results with your provider helps to “determine the true clinical significance of the results,” says Dr. Bohl. Here is what you can expect to learn from the conversation.

• Whether results are in or out of range — and what that means

• Whether you need follow-up testing.

• How your results may connect to your risk for diabetes, heart disease, or hormonal changes.

• Any lifestyle changes and treatment options that may help get your results within the normal range, if necessary.

• How these results compare to previous results, and whether there are any trends or changes over time.

• Whether any medications, supplements, or recent changes in lifestyle habits could affect your numbers.

You don’t need to do any intense prep ahead of talking to your doctor about lab results. In most cases, your provider will reach out to you to discuss your results. Even so, it can help to make a loose plan of what you intend to say.

“Giving your provider as much context as possible about yourself is key,” says Dr. Bohl. “That helps them better understand your results and — if you have a record of any prior results — it can help them track changes over time.”

So, to help guide the conversation, plan to give a brief overview of your health history, especially if you’re seeing a specialist or a new doctor. This is also a good time to explain or remind them what prompted testing in the first place.

You can also prepare a list of questions you’d like to get answered.

Questions to Ask Your Provider About Lab Results

Not sure what to ask your doctor about labs and lab results? We’ve got you covered.

Before testing:

• What information do you expect to learn from this test?

• Will the results of this test change my care?

• Are there any risks associated with this test?

• How should I prepare for this test?

• What factors may affect the results?

• What should I expect during this test?

• What are my next steps?

• Do you recommend any further testing?

After receiving your results:

• Are these normal results? Are they what you expected?

• What factors may have contributed to my results?

• If my results are out of range, what can I do to bring them back into the normal range?

• Do you recommend re-testing? When?

“Going over all of this with a provider gives you the opportunity to ask questions, understand more about yourself, and recognize if you are at risk of conditions like diabetes, heart disease, hormone imbalances, and much more,” says Dr. Bohl.

He recommends ending the conversation by talking about actionable recommendations, like tips for modifying your lifestyle, starting a new medication, or undergoing additional testing.

What kinds of questions should I ask my doctor about my lab results?

Consider asking questions about whether your result is in the reference range, if there is anything you should do to bring your results up or down, what the results indicate about your health, and when you should plan to retest.

How do I follow up with my doctor about lab results?

In most cases, your provider will reach out to you to discuss your results. If you haven’t heard from them, call the office or, if possible, send a message through the patient portal, which often is the fastest way to get in touch.

How often should I get follow-up bloodwork or retest?

The exact cadence of bloodwork and testing depends on your health and your doctor's instructions. Certain panels may be suggested on an annual basis, but frequency generally depends on your risk profile.