Benjamin,
Excellent question, tough answer. I have tried several different methods over my 21 years in practice and have not found any sure-fire way to keep track of all the hundreds of tests/labs/referrals I order. So, I just gave up and I clearly put the onus back on the patient. Every patient gets their instructions printed out and one of the things in those instructions is that they are to call the office if they do not hear from us within 2-3 days after they have a test performed. I also tell them not to assume "no news is good news" and that they should expect to hear from us on all tests. While I am doing a Pap, I specifically tell patients to call in one week for the results and go so far as to tell them that specimens or results do get lost so that if they do not hear from us, something is wrong...not with the test results per se but with our getting in touch with them about those results. I also urge them to call any of their doctors' offices if they have not heard the results of studies done by them, even if that office told them they would call them if there was something wrong. I suppose this still leaves me open to legal scrutiny but I believe the patient must assume some of the responsibilty.
Leslie
