Dear Colleagues:
In an effort to improve communication of critical test results between our labs and diagnostic centers and the physicians on inpatient units, we now have in place a process to ensure timely responses from the ordering physician. That process requires a call to my office if the attending physician did not respond in a timely manner, and I am happy to say, no calls have reached my office.
However, that’s not going to stop me from issuing a few procedural reminders relative to our communicating critical test results and, as physicians, our obligation to read them back to whichever diagnostic area we ordered the test from. The steps to ensure we receive results, confirm that they are accurate and that we understand them are 100 percent necessary to deliver the best and safest care to our patients.
When ordering a test, please make sure your call back information is accurate and current. Once a diagnostic test is completed in Radiology, Endoscopy or Pathology, the testing center will call the inpatient unit with the results, often times reading the results to another member of the care team, such as a nurse. That nurse will page you to call in for the results, and if the attending physician does not call back with 15 minutes, additional pages will go to section and division chiefs, and then to my office.
In addition, physicians have no choice but to read back the results to confirm accuracy and understanding. If it were not necessary to ensure our patients receive appropriate and safe care, we would not ask you to do it. It really is that simple.
And please know, we are tracking this exchange of information, because this data is required by the Joint Commission. Our labs and other diagnostic areas do a great job of acquiring and managing this data, and we’ve asked nursing staff to detail on stickers that the results were received, relayed to a physician and read back to the lab, and insert those stickers into the patient record.
Overall, we’re doing well in this regard, and Information Systems and our Quality Improvement Team are developing an application so we can capture this data electronically. Please keep up your commitment to this practice and the delivery of the safest patient care. We all are grateful for your efforts.
Sincerely,
Andy Whittemore, MD
Chief Medical Officer