Test Results From Your Doctor - No News Is Not Always Good News
You would think that being diagnosed with cancer was bad enough. But what if you discovered that a “communication glitch” resulted in a delayed diagnosis of your cancer? A delay that resulted in your being diagnosed as a Stage IV cancer patient with a 5% life expectancy at 5 years instead of Stage I with an 85% life expectancy. How would you feel? Angry? Disgusted? Disheartened?
This isn’t a hypothetical question. According to a 2007 study of California primary care physicians, approximately 20% of patients “may not have received timely or appropriate follow-up on positive (abnormal) test results.” Remember, primary care physicians are the first line of defense against a life threatening condition like cancer. The study, conducted by the California Healthcare Foundation, concluded that such follow up delays “can lead to complications and delays in treatment.”
Don’t think that cancer patients get any special treatment when it comes to failure to diagnose or delay in diagnosis. In a 2004 Journal of General Internal Medicine article, Communication Factors in the Follow-up of Abnormal Mammograms, 33% of women with an “abnormal mammogram” did not receive adequate follow-up care from their providers.*
The reason? A breakdown in communication between the physician and patient.
Among those women that received inadequate follow-up, researchers found that their physicians did not tell them that they needed to follow up their abnormal mammogram. In addition, these same physicians tended not to document in the patient’s medical record the follow-up care plan for women with abnormal mammograms. Such documentation, among other things, serves to “remind” the physician what they need to address with the patient during subsequent visits.
Some may find these findings somewhat startling. I know I did. But it turns out that failure to diagnose or delay in diagnosis has been a problem in the U.S. healthcare industry for sometime. The 1999 Institute of Medicine report, “To Err Is Human,” documented the significant risks posed by such unsafe healthcare practices.
The Take Aways?
Do not assume your doctor will remember to tell you about your lab or test results whether good or bad.
- Always ask your doctor for a copy of the written results of any lab or radiological test.
- If your results are “marginally” abnormal, ask your doctor what that means?
- Ask your doctor what the long-term plan is for a re-testing in the event of an abnormal test finding.
*According to the American College of Radiology, 3% of mammograms performed in the United States are read as “abnormal, with up to 3% of these women actually having breast cancer.
Journal General Internal Medicain 2004;19:316–323.
Uncoordinated Care: A Survey of Physician and Patient Experience 2007, California Healthcare Foundation
7 Comments:
At Mon Nov 19, 08:46:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
gyfmibg
LAVHJI AGREE THAT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO DO IS GET COPIES OF YOUR RESULTS AND ASK FOR EXPLAINATIONS OF ANYTHING YOU DON,T UNDERSTAND.AS A NURSE- PATIENT YOU MAY KNOW MORE THEN A NON -PROFESSIONAL PT.. YOU NEED TO LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT YOUR DIAGNOSIS, YOUR STAGE OF THE ILLNESS AND ALL THE CURRENT TREATMENTS FOR THAT ILLNESS. AS A NURSE FOR MANY YEARS, I HAVE SEEN MANY MANY CHANGES. ONE THING THAT I SEE IS DRS SPECIALIZE AND THEY OFTEN FORGET THAT THERE ARE OTHER SYSTEMS OR DISEASES THEN THE PERTICULAR ONE THEY SPECIALIZE IN, AND THEY OFTEN MISS ONE THING THAT AFFECTS ANOTHER.I WORKED IN MANY DIFFERENT FIELDS AS A NURSE AND YOU ARE SO INVOLVED IN THAT FIELD YOU FORGET THAT THE BODY WORKS AS A UNIT. IN OTHER WORDS YOUR CAR MAY BE IN PERFECT CONDITION BUT IT WON,T RUN WITH OUT GAS.IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE ALL YOUR REPORTS SENT TO ALL YOUR DRS.IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT YOUR CARE ,DON,T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR A SECOND OPINON OR A DIFFERENT DR . A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DR IS VERY IMPORTANT IN YOUR TREATMENT . I KNOW THAT AS A NURSE FIRST AND NOW AS A CANCER PT.
At Sun Dec 09, 12:49:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
why is it after vagina cylinder is removed in internal radiation you are sore and burn when you urniatte
At Thu Jun 12, 07:54:00 AM 2008,
Vicki Zerbee said…
This is disturbing.. and also additional confirmation that we all need to be in charge of our own good health. First, prevention including everything we can do on our own to build good health. Second, our own follow-up and even getting second opinions if you aren't getting the care you deserve (I know that is hard because sometimes we feel fine but there are things going on that we don't realize). Third, put your health right up there on the top of your daily list - pay attention to your body, feed it right, take good care of it.
At Wed Nov 19, 10:41:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
IS theer any medeicine for hepatitis B.so it can acure
At Fri May 22, 05:12:00 AM 2009,
Alternative Cancer Treatment said…
That was a great post. Communication lag between patients & doctors could make the matter worse. That too being affected by the most worse disease, it's bad to see that some peoples don't show any sign of interest in meeting a doctor. A person affected by Cancer, must consult their doctor as per the schedule. If not, we'll find people saying cancer can't be cured even if proper treatment is taken.
At Mon Jul 13, 01:29:00 AM 2009,
Prozac said…
Reading this makes me feel vindicated in insisting that each test be conducted twice whenever possible. It can be so easy to miss something the first time around, or for the doctor to be performing the wrong test.
At Wed Sep 09, 10:08:00 PM 2009,
Cancer Treatment Abroad said…
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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