Background Failing to inform a patient of an abnormal outpatient test result can be a serious
error, but little is known about the frequency of such errors or the processes for managing …

Objective: To investigate physician practices in the handling of patients' test results from the
time the test was ordered until the time any required follow-up was completed. Methods …

Background Failure to review and follow up on outpatient test results in a timely manner
represents a patient safety and malpractice concern. Therefore, we sought to identify …

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Poor communication of tests whose results are pending at
hospital discharge can lead to medical errors. OBJECTIVE To determine the adequacy with …

Background: Failure to relay information about test results pending when patients are
discharged from the hospital may pose an important patient-safety problem. Few data are …

Background: Diagnostic errors associated with the failure to follow up on abnormal
diagnostic studies (" missed results") are a potential cause of treatment delay and a threat to …

Background Diagnostic errors are the leading basis for malpractice claims in primary care,
yet these errors are underidentified and understudied. Computerized methods used to …

Methods The larger study used a multi-method protocol of observations, interviews, surveys,
and chart audits to assess the testing process at eight purposefully chosen family medicine …

BACKGROUND: Missed test results are common in clinical practice and compromise patient
safety. Direct reporting, whereby testing centers systematically notify both patients and …

Background Few reliable and efficient systems support the communication of test results to
outpatients, and this may lead to patient dissatisfaction with test result communication. The …