Senator recounts alarming portal result as Senate adopts bill to allow short hold on cancer test results

Senate Bill 162, advanced on April 28, would allow a limited delay (up to 72 hours) before certain oncology and genetic test results are posted to patient portals, giving clinicians time to communicate and explain findings.

Senator Frizzell described a personal episode in which she saw alarming language in a bone-scan report on a patient portal late at night and had to wait until morning to speak to her oncologist. "It was terrifying," she said on the floor, explaining why the bill seeks a narrow exception consistent with the patient-centered goals of the 21st Century Cures Act while acknowledging portal access's overall benefits.

Supporters, including medical societies and other senators, argued the change protects patients' mental health and preserves the patient–provider relationship. Opponents were not prominent in the floor record excerpt; the bill's committee reports were adopted and SB162 was adopted on the floor.

Ending: SB162 was adopted and ordered to the next step; sponsors said the measure aligns Colorado with other states that have adopted similar protections.