When it comes to your doctor’s office and your test results, it’s time to rethink the old adage, “No News is Good News.”   

A recent study published in the June 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed distressing findings concerning this commonly used saying. The authors of this study reviewed 5.434 randomly selected charts of patients between the ages of 50 and 69 in twenty-three primary care offices. Out of 1,889 abnormal test results, they found 135 apparent failures in informing the patient of the abnormality, or in documenting in the medical record that the patient was informed. That’s 1 out of every 14 abnormal tests, or 1 out of 14 patients who was not told of abnormal test results!

Interestingly, in this study,those offices that had electronic medical records did no better than those with paper charts. This makes sense because the problem is usually due to the lack of a system to inform patients of abnormal lab results, not the type of medical records used. In fact, the offices that had the highest failure rates used a combination of electronic medical records and paper charts, rather than solely one type or the other.

Yes, this is just one study. And we always tell you that before you can draw conclusions about results in medical studies, the findings need to be repeated in many well-designed studies. However, those words of wisdom don’t give us much comfort in this particular instance because if you are the one patient that doesn’t receive notification of your abnormal lab results in a timely manner, it could literally be bad for your health. Disastrous, in fact.

So what’s the message you should take home from this study? If you haven’t heard from your doctor’s office – either via a phone call or a written report – within several weeks of taking medical tests, CALL (or email if that is the mode of communication your doctor prefers). These medical tests include bloodwork, Pap smears and mammograms, among others. And if the medical test results will determine your treatment, such as urine or throat culture, don’t wait several weeks, CALL two-three days after having the test done.

Yes, doctors and other primary care clinicians are overwhelmingly busy these days, as are their office staffs. And though many offices do have a system in place in notify patients of  lab results, others – as seen in this study – do not.  And yes, they may get snappy with you, or even repeat the saying that you would’ve been called if there was a problem. But pay no mind that. JUST GET YOUR RESULTS.

Don’t be shy – speak up. It could save your life.