(June 22, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Failure to inform patients about important medical test results is not uncommon in primary care practice, according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Some ways you can reduce the risk of missing important medical test results include:

•    Asking your physician to inform you about all important test results

•    Calling your doctor's office a few weeks after undergoing testing, if you have not heard back

•    Asking your doctor about any test results during your next checkup.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York reviewed the medical records of nearly 5,500 randomly selected adults treated in primary care centers. The researchers looked for abnormal test results and checked the records to see if there was any written indication that the patient had been informed of this result.

Among nearly 2,000 important abnormal test results, there was no indication that patients had been informed 7.1% of the time. The frequency with which physicians failed to inform patients about these test results varied dramatically from practice to practice. Those with records systems that had both a paper and electronic component had the highest error rate.

Today's research highlights the problem of failing to inform patients about important test results and suggests that using simple test result management processes can reduce these failure rates.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Kelly Schweitzer.