The Impact for Patient Outcomes of Failure to Follow Up on Test Results. How Can We Do Better?
BACKGROUND
The World Health Organization-World Alliance for Patient Safety has identified test result management as a priority area. Poor test result follow-up can have major consequences for the quality of care, including missed diagnoses and suboptimal patient outcomes. Over the last three decades there has been considerable growth in the number of requests for pathology and radiology services which has added to the complexity of how patient care is delivered and test results are managed. This can contribute to a lack of clarity about where and with whom responsibility for test follow-up should reside: a problem that is compounded by a lack of clear definitions about what are critical, unexpected or significantly abnormal results.
This paper will present a narrative review highlighting key issues related to the problem of failure to follow up laboratory test results, and outline potential solutions.


CONCLUSIONS
Information technology (IT) has the potential to enhance the performance and safety of test result management processes. Effective solutions must engage all stakeholders, including consumers, in arriving at decisions about who needs to receive results, how and when they are communicated, and how they are acknowledged and acted upon and the documentation of these actions.
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University , Sydney, Australia.
Joanne
J
Callen
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University , Sydney, Australia.
Andrew
A
Georgiou
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University , Sydney, Australia.
Julie
J
Li
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University , Sydney, Australia.
Johanna I
JI
Westbrook
diagnostic tests; health information systems; laboratory information systems; medical order entry systems; patient access to records; patient safety; quality improvement; test result follow-up
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