The Federal Government quietly scheduled a My Health Record update to scrap the default seven-day lock on patients viewing test results this week — only to delay it at the last minute.

The controversial change had been scheduled to start yesterday, but pathologists received an email this morning saying it had been rescheduled for Monday.

Many doctors had been concerned about patients misinterpreting test results, especially for serious conditions, and supported the current system, where only doctors can see results for the first seven days after they are uploaded, unless they decide to release them to the patient earlier.

This week, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) said pathologists had struggled to find information on implementation dates or which tests would be released immediately under the new regime.