Posting #4- Never Assume

The material posted on this blog (The Labvocate) is for information purposes only, and can not be used for the purpose of diagnosing and/or the treatment of individual medical conditions

The material posted on this blog (The Labvocate) are the opinions of the author, and do not reflect those of the Northern Health Authority.

Early on in life I was taught the following lesson about making assumptions. Why should you never assume? The lesson went like this. The teacher wrote the word out:
ASSUME
Then put slashes in the following spots:

ASS/U/ME

The final part of the lesson then was written out.
Assumptions have to be made in day to day living of course, and it would be unrealistic (and not mention neurotic) if a person challenged every one they faced each day. After all, no news probable means good news, correct?
Not necessarily.
One question patients ask after the lab has taken their specimen is when will the doctor get the result? That is such a simple question. However it is also a loaded question. Sometimes what they are really asking is “when do you think the Doctor will contact me to discuss the results of the test?”
The answer may be never.
According to a recent study released by the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that sometimes a medical practice either doesn’t inform a patient of an abnormal lab result, or does not keep a formal record of the result being discussed with the patient. How often does this occur? The study gives the statistic 1 out of every 14 abnormal test results (approximately 7%) not being given or discussed with patients.
It was an interesting article filled with statistics. One thing the authors mentioned was that this study was done on doctors who were willing for researchers to go through their records. Of the 98 practices approached, only 19 agreed to participate. I applaud the 19 that did, but at the same time I can appreciate why the other 79 did not. Whatever reasons they have for not participating has to be respected, and left at that.
What was interesting was that the study found that there was no difference between practices that manually wrote notes in the patient’s charts and those that used an Electronic Medical Record (EMR). No matter what system was used the study recommended Doctors perform the following five steps regarding test results:
1) All test results are routed to the responsible physician.
2) The physician signs off on all results.
3) The practice informs patients of all results, normal and abnormal, at least in general terms.
4) The practice documents that the patient has been informed.
5) Patients are told to call after a certain time interval if they have not been notified of their results.
But what about the patient, what can they do to make sure that they are informed of an abnormal lab result?
Here are five suggestions to make sure you are notified of an abnormal lab result.
1) Find out what tests the doctor has ordered and record them.
2) Find out from the lab what test are done on site, are referred out and how long before the doctor gets the results.
3) Schedule your next appointment around the time your doctor is expecting the test results
4) Two to three days before your appointment, contact the doctor’s office to make sure all the lab results are in. If they are not, have the office get them. Reschedule your appointment if necessary.
5) Discuss the results with your doctor. Ask them this simple question, ‘were there any abnormal results?’

Hopefully, an abnormal result will not be missed. But as mentioned at the beginning of this posting, do not assume that any system is a 100% foolproof. Due diligence, especially when it comes to your health, is the final safeguard.

Thank you for taking the time to read my posting. I look forward to your thoughts and comments..



Regards,

Mark Hawkins