DEAR ABBY: Please remind your readers it is extremely important that whenever a patient has a laboratory test, the physician or his or her office communicate the results directly to the patient -- regardless of whether the test is positive or negative. It is possible for the lab test to come back with a significant life-threatening or health-threatening finding for the patient and be accidentally misplaced or filed in a chart without the physician seeing it and the patient never learning anything until it's too late.
As recently as last week, I had a patient tell me that her family doctor told her, "No news is good news." This is absolutely the dumbest advice that can ever be given. Almost all physicians know of individuals who have died from cancer because the findings had not been communicated to the patient years earlier (at a preventative stage), or diabetic findings or dangerously high cholesterol, etc., had never been communicated to patients.
Please, Abby, urge all individuals who have lab tests to expect a call within a week or two. If they hear nothing, they MUST call the doctor's office to inquire about the results. This could save one's life. -- HAROLD J. GOLDFARB, M.D., ALLENTOWN, PA.
DEAR DR. GOLDFARB: This subject has been addressed in my column before, and I'm sorry it is still an ongoing problem.
Readers, "No news" ISN'T good news. No news is simply that -- no news. Always make a point of obtaining medical test results if you don't receive them from your physician. That precaution could save your life.