Effective communication between laboratories and clinical providers is a key element of successful cervical cancer screening. Laboratorians and clinicians have a shared responsibility to remain current in their field and communicate significant changes in their respective disciplines to one another. When pathologists serve as consultants to health-care providers, giving appropriate advice on screening and follow-up tests, the patient is the beneficiary [1].

Communication takes many forms, both written and verbal. One effective means of written communication is to append educational notes or comments to the cytopathology report. The method of communication is left to the discretion of the laboratory and should be based on the individual practice setting and the content of the information to be conveyed.

Written comments regarding the significance and validity of cytologic results are the responsibility of the pathologist and should be directed to the health-care provider who requested the test. Optional educational notes provide additional information regarding the significance or predictive value of the cytologic findings and may be based on references to the medical literature or the laboratory’s experience. Comments and educational notes should be carefully worded, concise, clear, and evidence based, whenever possible. In 2014, the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued a mandate to enable patients, or a person designated by the patient, the right to have direct access to the patient’s completed laboratory test reports upon request [2]. This is part of ongoing efforts to encourage patients to be informed partners with their health-care providers. Direct access to laboratory results allows patients to track their health records, make decisions with their health-care professionals, and follow recommended treatment plans. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that patients may be reviewing their own cytology report and any accompanying notes or comments.