Demand medical test results

When it comes to the results of medical tests or screenings, most people tend to believe that no news is good news. They may want to rethink that.

A new study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City says the failure of doctors and medical facilities to pass on test results is "relatively common," even when those results are abnormal and potentially problematic.

The study's findings, published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine, say the failure to follow up or provide test results affects one of every 14 medical tests or screenings. Worse, the study found a 7 percent failure rate to communicate abnormal test results, which can imperil patients and lead to increased medical costs and malpractice lawsuits.

The vast majority of test results are properly communicated with patients, the research found. But when physicians or medical facilities fail to communicate test results, patients need to be their own best advocates and insist on being told the findings so they can take the proper steps if a problem is detected. The nonprofit National Patient Safety Foundation advises patients to ask for their test results on a consistent basis, regardless whether the results are of concern.

The study's findings should be a wake-up call to health-care providers and medical facilities. Patients should not be subjected to needless worry after undergoing blood tests, biopsies or other screenings. They should be provided results in a timely manner, regardless of the outcomes.

The study, which reviewed the medical records of 5,434 people aged 50 to 69 years old, found no difference in failure rates between medical practices or facilities that exclusively use electronic or paper records. However, medical practices that use both for record keeping had the highest rates of failure.

Physicians or facilities that have established procedures for informing patients of their test results — which included asking patients to call if they have not been told — had lower failure rates.

We hope the findings of this study will result in two outcomes: that health-care providers will establish better procedures for relaying this information and become more dutiful about informing patients, and that patients themselves will be more assertive about finding out the results of tests when there's been a failure to communicate.