Is No News Good News?

Doctors offices sometimes fail to inform patients of abnormal test results, according to a recent study - http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/169/12/1123 published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers found that 7 percent of the time primary-care doctors delayed or failed to deliver such news to patients. While many doctors believe that patients should assume that "no news is good news," the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality warns that such lapses represent poor patient care. The organization offers these quick tips when getting medical tests - http://www.remedylife.com/general/articles/content?cid=2043&ctid=2. If you're having a medical test, ask your doctor when you should expect to receive your tests results. If you're not contacted within the specified time frame, call the office. Remember, it's your health. The news was reported by ABC News - http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=7902382&page=1, the NYTimes - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23patient.html and MedPage Today - http://www.medpagetoday.com/PracticeManagement/PracticeManagement/14812.