Last week I heard from Mary, a reader who had an experience to share that provides a lesson for us all.

Mary’s doctor had ordered a diagnostic for her. After the test, she was told she would be contacted if there were any problems.

More than a week went by, Mary heard nothing, and assumed everything was all right…. until…. surprise!.... Ten days later, she got a late afternoon phone call telling her she had been scheduled for another test early the next morning. And oh, by the way, she couldn’t eat anything for the 12 hours prior to the test.

Mary didn’t know why the test was being ordered, or what had been found during the first test, and since the doctor was not available, no one could answer her questions. She had plans for dinner that evening and no transportation to get to the test the next day. What was Mary supposed to do?

This is not an unusual situation. Doctor’s offices, often overwhelmed by patient loads or personnel shortages, have defaulted to this "don’t call us, we’ll call you" approach to providing patients with test results.

For a smart patient, that’s not good enough. You want to get the results, good or bad, and you want an opportunity to ask follow up questions. Further, when possible, you want additional appointments to be scheduled at your convenience.

When your doctor orders a test, ask when the results will be available, and how they will be communicated to you. Ask for specifics, such as "we will call you by Thursday" or "we will mail them within 10 days." The idea is to get a commitment to a plan of action for communicating what you need to know.

Then make sure they follow through. If you don’t hear back by the promised date, then call the doctor’s office and ask for the results. If they don’t have them, ask them to tell you when they will be available. Stick with it until the results are provided to you. And certainly, once you know the results, if you have follow up questions, ask who you can talk to, and when, to get the answers you seek.

Finally, ask that a copy of the test results be mailed to you. You’ll want to keep it as part of your medical history. Regardless of the outcome, the results may help future medical decision-making.

©  2006 Trisha Torrey

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