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Answer a patient portal message about delayed lab results

Practice: Setting limits and rules. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

A patient sent a worried portal message asking where her lab results are. As the medical assistant, reply in under 70 words, plain text: say when results are expected and how she'll be told, in the first two sentences. Don't guess or hint at what the results might show, and don't promise a call from the doctor unless the notes say so. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "4 sentences, each under 16 words."
  • Opening with sympathy. The AI spends the first lines on "I understand this is stressful" before answering. Try: Add: "First two sentences: when results come and how she'll see them."
  • Reassuring with a guess. To calm her down, the AI says "I'm sure everything's fine," which staff can't know. Try: Add: "Don't guess or hint at results."
  • Promising a doctor's call. The AI offers "the doctor will call you", which isn't the policy. Try: Add: "A nurse calls only if something needs attention. No doctor call promise."
  • Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the patient portal. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the patient portal. Plain text, no bold or headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Answers when first
  • Gives the outside lab date
  • Rules out guessing
  • Avoids promising a call
  • Sets a word limit

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