Patients Often Not Told About Abnormal Test Results
Study finds communication breakdowns at least 7 percent of the time
Reader Comments
Doctors telling me conflicting information
I am sympathize with everyone. It is terrible how doctors treat patients, and seem to want to own our bodied and not tell us what they find. An eye doctor wrote that I have "attenuation of the blood vessels in the back of my eyes." and she never told me about it, or what it is.
No other profession could get away with this! Doctors can get away with murder! Literally! Patients need to join together. and start a national support group for every patient.
I a struggling with a disability in my legs, and I have FOUR different diagnoses from FOUR different neurologists! I need a patiend advocate to help me!
Neurologist #1-Said I have Myasthenia Gravis from low positive AChR test (1.2). Prednisone hurt my stomach.
Neurologist #2-Said I do NOT have Myasthenia Gravis because titer is too LOW, and it is abnormal because of my ASTHMA!
Neurologist #3-Said I could have Lambert Eaton Syndrome and ordered an EMG repetitive nerve studies test.
Neurologist #4-Said EMG was normal and I have neurogenic intermittent claudication due to lumbar spinsl stenosis.
Which neurologist is right? Which neurologist is wrong? Which neurologist should not be practicing medicine?
I am disabled in both legs: I can not climb steps unless I am holding onto the handrail, or I will fall over. I can not squat down and get up. It hurts to stand up. It is difficult to walk one block. I feel ill and sometimes I tremble.
What can I do? Keep struggling every day until I can not walk at all? How will I get to work? I already lost my previuous job, because of my disability!
I know of a hospital that sends form letters to patients, forbidding them to return to the hospital if they file a complaint about their negligant care! I know people who were "banned" from this hospital. I have seen their letters!
The hospital says it gives "world class care," and gets away with this, because there is no law preventing it!
Please read the book "Wall of Silence, The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes that Kill and Injure Millions of Americans," by Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh.
Doctors telling me conflicting information
I am sympathize with everyone. It is terrible how doctors treat patients, and seem to want to own our bodied and not tell us what they find. An eye doctor wrote that I have "attenuation of the blood vessels in the back of my eyes." and she never told me about it, or what it is.
No other profession could get away with this! Doctors can get away with murder! Literally! Patients need to join together. and start a national support group for every patient.
I a struggling with a disability in my legs, and I have FOUR different diagnoses from FOUR different neurologists! I need a patiend advocate to help me!
Neurologist #1-Said I have Myasthenia Gravis from low popsitive AChR test (1.2). Prednisone hurt my stomach.
Neurologist #2-Said I do NOT have Myasthenia Gravis because titer is too LOW, and it is abnormal because of my ASTHMA!
Neurologist #3-Said I could have Lambert Eaton Syndrome and ordered an EMG repetitive nerve studies test.
Neurologist #4-Said EMG was normal and I have neurogenic intermittent claudication due to lumbar spinsl stenosis.
Which neurologist is right? Which neurologist is wrong? Which neurologist should not be practicing medicine?
I am disabled in both legs: I can not climb steps unless I am holding onto the handrail, or I will fall over. I can not squat down and get up. It hurts to stand up. It is difficult to walk one block. I feel ill and sometimes I tremble.
What can I do? Keep struggling every day until I can not walk at all? How will I get to work? I already lost my previuous job, because of my disability!
I know of a hospital that sends form letters to patients, forbidding them to return to the hospital if they file a complaint about their negligant care! I know people who were "banned" from this hospital. I have seen their letters!
The hospital says it gives "world class care," and gets away with this, because there is no law preventing it!
Please read the book "Wall of Silence, The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes that Kill and Injure Millions of Americans," by Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh.
Doctor did not tell me what tests he ordered, and will not tell me the results!
A rheumatologist sent me to an infectious disease doctor, because I have antibodies to bacteria in my blood! But the infectious disease doctor did not care. He lied to me and said he was ordering THREE blood tests for infection. But when I went to the blood draw lab, the nurse brought in a long list of test labels. When I asked her, "How many tests did the doctor order?," she said, "EIGHT!" So, I asked to see the labels, and I wrote down the names of all the tests. So now I know the doctor lied to me and did tests behind my back! (One of the tests was for circulating immune complexes (RAJI). This test has been abnormal in the past! It is very HIGH! And no one will tell me what is causing it? I called the infectious disease department, and asked for my test results, and the doctor refuses to reply! (I think he is angry that I found out he was testing me behind my back!) Is this legal? Can doctors order tests on people without telling them what the test is? Do patients have a right to know what tests are being ordered? Do patients have a LEGAL right to know their test results! What should I do, if he never tells me the results? This doctor is very strange, because he did not know the answer to my questions about "why my bacterial infection did not show up in my previous blood culture test?" And he did not know if I still have the infection! I told him, "I felt better when I was taking the antibotics (1,500mg of antibiotics every day for 14 days!). But now I feel sick again!" How can doctors do things like this? Is the doctor hiding something? I feel very ill. Is the doctor keeping some mistake from me?
health care tests
All persons should take a serious interest in any results a Doctor finds with any tests.I have seen were they will no tell you things you should know Afterall all I lost a leg to diabetes and most of my colon due to drinking and wrong diet. Now though I am serious with keeping what have left. So this means All test results I get a copy for myself. This way I can work to improve what there is yet to maintain. I have Kidney failure and with the test results I can keep my own diet in lie and use the vitamins or herbs to help in healing me some I have managed to keep myself from dialisys so far and plan to keep it this way as long as possible.
People need to e more active with there personal care after all, t is there life and if they care for living, well. would'nt anyone want it to be better?
Ask, ask, ask -- very important things might be overlooked!!!
Many tests were run during my first pregnancy and I assumed that they would call me if there were any problems, but that no news meant everything was normal. One month before my baby's due date, the doctor called and told me that I needed to make an appointment with an endocrinologist ASAP because they had just read the test results that said I had gestational diabetes and that it was crucial for me to get the diabetes under control before the baby was born. The doctor said that a nurse had recently realized that the diabetes test results were not in my file, had requested the lab to send another copy, and they were very worried once they saw the test results (gestational diabetes is normally diagnosed six months into a pregnancy). Mistakes can be made, things can be overlooked. It is important to always ask for your test results.
Getting lab test results
Most doctors offices don't routinely send out test results, unless the patient calls and asks for them, mostly for logistical reasons. However, that would be easy to do using an online email service such as www.housedoc.us, which is HIPAA compliant, and free for routine communications between doctors and patients. That way you can also have a written record of the results, to minimize the chances of error.
This is true
Unfortunately, there simply isn't enough money paid by Medicaid and Medicare (and some other companies)to allow follow-ups of this sort unless there is a serious problem which requires an office visit. The problem will get mush worse if the government interferes further in our practices !
Learn to read your own blood test
My wife is not a doctor or a nurse but she learned to read the blood test results mine and her's, take the time go to Mayo clinic site or Webmd and other sites it's well worth it.
Well placed advice
This is a routine that every patient should put in place. I am being treated for high cholesterol. After every blood test, I have to call the doctor's office. The staff cannot give me the result until they approve the communication with the doctor, and he is of course seeing patients. When I finally do get the result the message is unfailingly that my cholestorel is "o.k.", or "a little elevated", etc. I then go through this dance and inform the staff member that I WANT NUMBERS. I always leave the conversation feeling like they must think I am an imbecile that I cannot digest and apply reasoning to the knowledge of my actual reading. The obvious answer is to just change doctors, but I don't think I would get better results by any other doctor in my area. It's insane and doctors should be ashamed of themselves that they don't carry through with this final and most important step.
reporting labe
As a doctor I give my patients a time frame in which they should expect to hear from me regarding their lab results. If they have not been contacted by that date I tell them to call me. I tell them that "no news is no news not good news."
