Doctors Often Feel Compelled To Follow Up on Incidental Test Results
More than half of physicians follow up on test results for unrelated “incidental” issues found while testing for a patient’s original condition, according to an AHRQ-funded study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Of 364 respondents to a Web-based survey, about 59 percent reported following up on incidental findings because it “seemed clinically important.” Among other respondents, the most common reason for pursuing additional tests or treatment was practice/community norms, followed by concern about a lawsuit, another doctor’s advice and patient requests. Researchers also found that doctors trained in the United States or those less worried about cost were more likely to order further tests and treatment. The authors suggested that understanding doctors’ motivations would help reduce the harm caused by unnecessary testing and treatment. Access the abstract.
J Gen Intern Med. 2019 Jul 25. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05213-1. [Epub ahead of print]
Why Do Physicians Pursue Cascades of Care After Incidental Findings? A National Survey.
Author information
- 1
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. iganguli@bwh.harvard.edu.
- 2
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- 3
- Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, NH, Lebanon, USA.
- 4
- American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- 5
- Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
- PMID:
- 31346910
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s11606-019-05213-1
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