Dear Patient

We get many queries about results, so here, we explain about how we deal with results at Ivy Grove Surgery.

RINGING FOR YOUR RESULTS

The first part of our practice policy on results is that we will always contact you if something needs to be done with a result. You don't need to specifically contact us first.

The second part of our practice policy on results is that we will always contact you urgently, if something urgent needs to be done with a result. You don't need to specifically contact us first.

If urgent action is required, we will contact you quickly - this will usually be within a few days (or even same day) of you having the test. So as a general guide, if you don't hear immediately about a test result, you can assume that there is nothing drastic with it. Bear in mind, that doesn't mean you can assume it's completely normal, it may be that some action is still required, but that urgent action is not needed.

Therefore there is generally no need to ring in for your results. If weeks pass and you still don't hear anything about your result, you can assume no action was required at all.

We appreciate that waiting to hear from the doctor can cause anxiety, especially if days or weeks pass; we know you may still want to know if your result is normal, or what the doctor has said about it, so on this page, we will try and explain the process of how we deal with results.

HOW WE PROCESS RESULTS

When your result comes into the building, it is allocated to your record, however it is not yet properly filed.

If the clinician who ordered the test is in work, they will review it. If the clinician who ordered the test is not in work, the result is reviewed by the doctor on duty. The duty doctor decides if there is any urgent action required on your result. If so, they will take the appropriate action, wheether that be prescribing you something, getting an appointment booked, or having a repeat test or speaking to you directly.

If no urgent action is required on your test, the duty doctor will mark the result as having been viewed, then they will leave it in your record till your usual doctor is back in. They will only do this if it is clinically safe to do so.

If you have online access, you may see your result in the record, but that there is no comment yet, and you may be wondering if it's normal or abnormal or what the doctor has said about it. All that means is that it is still being processed.

We realise this may provoke anxiety, thinking that your result is just sitting there in your doctor's inbox with nothing being done about it, but rest assured, if there was anything drastic up with the result, the duty doctor will already have taken any action required.

The reason we leave the result for your usual doctor to deal with is for continuity. By keeping to the same clinician, we ensure that your treatment and any plans already made for you are consistent. This has been shown to provide better quality care and safer outcomes for patients. It can genuinely be a case of 'too many cooks spoil the broth' and doesn't make for good patient care.

When your usual doctor comes in, they will then take definitive action on your result, make a comment, then properly file the result. This entire process from receiving the result in the building, to it being filed, could take anything up to 10-14 days.

We realise this is a long while to wait to know what your result means, but it is safer overall. After all, you would not want us to make rush decisions on your results.

URGENT ACTION ON RESULTS

As mentioned above, we will ALWAYS contact you immediately if some urgent action is required on your result. This can happen within a few days of having your test, or sometimes even same day. Therefore it is important that we have an up to date contact number on your record. We generally prefer mobile phone numbers, as this gives flexibility in terms of receiving text messages and/or documents from us.

If you don't hear from us immediately after having your test, you can assume that 'no news is good news' and there is nothing drastically wrong with your result.

NO ACTION ON RESULTS

We get a lot of queries about our comments on results that indicate 'no action'. What does 'no action' mean?

In general, no action means that some parameters in the result may not be completely within the stated normal ranges from the lab, however, overall, the result is either not clinically significant, or that you are already on appropriate treatment, or that it is just normal for you.

It means that we have acknowledged that there are findings, but that after taking in the whole clinical picture, the doctor has deemed that the results don't need anything doing with them. We realise this might be worrying, knowing your result isn't perfect, yet the doctor isn't doing anything, but please recognise that the human body is not a machine, nor it is perfect, none of us are. Some people may have had results that are like this, sometimes for many years, and it indicates that no action is required.

If it is the first time that your results are out of normal range, the doctor may wish to repeat your test. We have a separate information page about why tests sometimes need to be repeated.

NORMAL RESULTS

If your test is completely normal, the comment on your result will say so. This will often mean that no additional action is required. Your doctor will usually have already indicated to you if a normal result was required before embarking on the next step of a treatment plan, for example, normal blood results required before starting new medication.

As indicated above, in general, if you don't hear from us at all, certainly after a few weeks from having your test, you can assume that either your result was normal or that it required no action.

ACCESSING YOUR RESULTS

If, after reading the above, you still want to know what the doctor has said about your results, please leave it 10-14 days for us to follow the above usual process for dealing with your results, then ring us up.

The best time to ring for a result is in the afternoon when the phone lines are less busy. Our receptionist will inform you of the doctor's comment.

Alternatively, you can complete an online consultation request specifically to ask about results, or apply for online access to your records to access any result, any time.

Onlne test results request Online access

CONCLUSION

Hopefully this page will have come some way to explaining results so that you do not worry unnecessarily. As indicated in the red message box above, if something urgent or serious is going on, we will always get in touch with you directly.

Yours sincerely

Ivy Grove Surgery