Any time you go to the doctor and need testing done or other follow-up appointments, you should be informed and followed up with within a reasonable amount of time. If your medical provider doesn’t follow up with you at the appropriate time or doesn’t reach out to make sure your symptoms have resolved with treatment, then that may be medical negligence.
Whether you’re waiting on the results of a biopsy, pregnancy test, blood work or any other kind of procedure, having to wait too long could mean that you’re left in the dark about your own medical condition. In some cases, not getting the test results quickly could lead to more harm than you’ve already suffered.
What should you expect when you’re waiting for a follow-up call?
You should speak specifically with your medical provider to determine what’s normal for them, but on the whole, you should expect to get a call, text, email or other kind of communication when your medical provider gets a copy of your test results and has time to review them. You may not get a phone call every time, but you should get an indication of the results being in and a notice if you need to come in to talk to your provider.
Should you have to follow up with your doctor?
It’s frustrating to deal with, but sometimes doctors don’t follow up with patients like they should. For your own wellbeing, it’s important for you to call if your doctor doesn’t. If they continue to delay telling you about negative results or bad news and you suffer from complications because of unnecessary delays, then you may be able to hold them accountable.
You deserve to know everything about your health condition
When it comes to your health, remember that no news equals no news, it doesn’t mean your test results were fine. If your medical provider fails to contact you and you get hurt because of the delays, you may want to look into making a medical malpractice claim to hold them accountable for not following through with an appropriate level of medical care.