For patients, waiting on lab results can feel like time standing still. For healthcare professionals, delays in receiving those same results can ripple through an entire day of care decisions, appointments, and follow-ups.

Tebra surveyed 764 patients in the United States to understand the emotional toll of lab result delays. We also surveyed 236 US healthcare professionals to measure the operational burden those delays place on practices.

The findings reveal a system under strain on both sides, where slow diagnostic timelines erode trust, spike anxiety, and interrupt the flow of care at critical moments.

“Scanxiety” describes the stress, worry, and physical symptoms patients experience while waiting for medical test results. The term captures a cycle of compulsive result-checking, online symptom-searching, disrupted sleep, and heightened fear that sets in long before any clinical news arrives.

While the anxiety itself is a patient experience, its root cause is often a systems problem, delayed or disconnected lab results that leave patients waiting in silence. 

Lab delays affected the mental and physical well-being of the majority of patients surveyed.

A total of 84% of patients experienced at least one anxiety symptom while waiting for lab results, with 52% repeatedly checking for updates, and 51% reporting anxiety or persistent worry. Nearly 1 in 5 patients (17%) lost sleep worrying over delayed results, and 14% reported physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, or a racing heart.

Many also said waiting for results was more stressful than the actual test or appointment itself (69%). For 59% of patients, peak anxiety arrived within the first 24 hours (27%) or after 2 to 3 days (32%).

Patients and healthcare professionals are operating under different assumptions about when results arrive and when concern should be triggered. That disconnect has consequences for both sides.

A majority of patients are navigating the wait with a fundamental misunderstanding. More than half (56%) had assumed their healthcare professional had their lab results, when in fact the provider didn't yet have them. Many patients may feel falsely reassured or confused about why they haven't received any news.

Patient expectations also vary significantly depending on the type of test. Routine tests, such as cholesterol panels and standard bloodwork, are lower-stakes checks that can tolerate longer turnaround times.

High-stakes tests, including biopsies, cancer screenings, and pregnancy-related labs, carry life-changing implications and far less tolerance for delay. One in 10 patients (10%) expected routine results within 24 hours, but that figure jumped to 1 in 4 (25%) for high-stakes tests.

According to healthcare professionals, typical turnaround times for routine labs vary widely:

Despite this variation, nearly 3 in 4 healthcare professionals (74%) said lab delays have impacted a diagnosis or treatment decision, with 1 in 5 reporting this happening often or always.

The burden of lab result delays doesn't stop at patient anxiety. Inside practices, those delays translate into lost time, interrupted workflows, and manual effort that compounds across the week.

The most immediate sign of system strain was the frequency of manual follow-up. A total of 70% of healthcare professionals said their team had to manually chase down missing or delayed lab results at least sometimes, and 1 in 5 (20%) said this happened often or always. Another 68% reported that delays at least sometimes disrupted scheduling, follow-ups, or care coordination.

The administrative cost of delays added up quickly across the week. Nearly 1 in 2 healthcare professionals (48%) spent 1 to 3 hours per week managing delayed results, and 14% spent 4 or more hours on the same task. That time was spent on follow-up calls, repeat checks, and patient communication, all of which pulled practice managers away from daily operations and workflow optimization.

When asked about the root cause, healthcare professionals most commonly cited:

But overall, 42% believe better-connected digital systems—such as an ONC-certified electronic health record (EHR)—would significantly or completely reduce delays and workflow strain, pointing to infrastructure investment as a practical path forward.

The data points to a clear fix, and it's one that practices can put in place now. Tebra's electronic lab solution, part of our all-in-one clinical documentation and patient record system,, replaces paper-based ordering with a connected digital workflow, directly addressing the delays and manual follow-up that drive both patient anxiety and staff burden.

With Tebra eLabs, practices can send orders to more than 700 labs and receive real-time results that record automatically in patient charts. Automated result matching pairs incoming results with the right orders, which cuts the manual chasing that 70% of healthcare professionals reported. Faster turnaround means providers get the information they need to make timely care decisions, and patients spend less time waiting in silence.

The result is a tighter loop between test and answer. Less time spent tracking down missing results, fewer interrupted workflows, and a clearer path to the answers patients are waiting for.

Tebra commissioned two online surveys conducted in May 2026. The first surveyed 764 US adults; respondents were 50% male and 50% female, and included Gen Z (12%), Millennials (52%), Gen X (26%), and Baby Boomers (10%). The second survey was of 236 US healthcare professionals; respondents were 75% female and 24% male.

All survey participants were adults aged 18 or older. Respondents were recruited through an online panel and screened for eligibility. For multi-select questions, percentages reflect the share of total respondents who selected each option and may not sum to 100%. Methodology percentages not totaling 100% are due to rounding.

Tebra, headquartered in Southern California, empowers independent healthcare practices with cutting-edge AI and automation to drive growth, streamline care, and boost efficiency. Our all-in-one EHR and billing platform delivers everything you need to attract and engage your patients, including online scheduling, reputation management, and digital communications.

Inspired by "vertebrae," our name embodies our mission to be the backbone of healthcare success. With over 165,000 providers and 190 million patient records, Tebra is redefining healthcare through innovation and a commitment to customer success. We're not just optimizing operations — we're ensuring private practices thrive.

The data and findings in this article are available for noncommercial use. If referenced or republished, proper attribution to Tebra with a link to the original article is required.