Why You Should Always Follow-up On Test Results From Your Doctor

When it comes to medical test results, patients are often told that “no news is good news”. We are often advised that not hearing back from our doctor’s office means nothing is wrong. Quite understandably, patients often feel there’s no need to follow-up with their doctor to find out the results of medically necessary tests. This course of inaction, however, may be the worst course of action for the health consumer.
The fact is, medical errors do occur. This includes the lack of follow-up on abnormal test results. The problem is actually quite substantial, with some figures suggesting that such lack of follow-up may be responsible for almost a quarter of all medical errors.
Medical miscommunication failures can be devastating to the patient, and, unfortunately, they occur more frequently than we’d like. Recently in Maine, at the 5th Annual Patient Safety Academy, the “No News is No News” campaign was unveiled. The campaign speaks to the importance of health consumers following up on medical test results.
Rather than assuming that all is well if you don’t hear from your doctor’s office, a safer approach is to take charge of your health and ask for test results. By doing so, you can help reduce the possibility of medical communication errors which can lead to potentially devastating medical misdiagnosis.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a medical misdiagnosis and are seeking a qualified medical malpractice attorney, contact Los Angeles doctor-turned-lawyer Bradley I. Kramer for a free consultation today.