Our dept head got a letter from a doctor complaining about me.
I can't give much information for obvious reasons but in short:
We had a patient who did not want to leave without getting the results of their scan. Their doctor wanted to results immediately and left a contact number but repeatedly didn't answer their phone. After 45 minutes our Radiologist said "go ahead and tell the patient this.......". So that's what I did. (it was a completely normal scan).
Now the doctor is angry. Our department head said I had done nothing wrong and that the Radiologist as a MD has every right to let the patient know the results of the scan, specifically since it was perfectly normal. If it's critical and we can't reach the doctor then the Radiologist will tell the patient personally and suggest they go to the ER.
How does this work in your medical imaging department?
Would you like to comment?
