High Failure Rates Warrant Improvement of Test Result Management Systems

A recent study by the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the number of times practices failed to inform patients of abnormal test results. It found that failure to inform occurred in on in 14 cases. It also found that failure rates varied widely among practices - from 0% to 26%. Does your practice have a 26% failure rate? You can imagine the implications to your patients and your business.

Besides the obvious implications, not notifying your patients of test results will also increase inbound calls from patients looking for results. Your office staff will then be forced to handle inquiries in an disorderly and inefficient manner. It is much more efficient to process test results at the same time by the same person. And how satisfied do you think your patients will be if they have to follow up with you for a result?

Root causes uncovered in the failures include lack of processes or poor processes. The best practices had efficient processes in place to notify patients. Those practices with the highest failure rates did not have clear processes, did the work when they found the time and did not have official policies in place.

What you can do:

You can do a chart review to determine how often your practice has failed to notify patients of abnormal test results. However, if you have a "no news is good news" policy of not informing patients of test results, it is highly suggested that you reassess your process. The AHRQ advises patients to never make this assumption, and common sense says that you'll very likely have more inefficient inbound calls than necessary.

Flowchart your test result management process and identify weak points, redundancies and hand-offs. Set aside blocks of time and assign key staff to handle test results in batches.

If you need assistance, contact Enovasis Healthcare Solutions. Our experts can streamline your process and reduce failure rates with minimal disruption to your practice.