Every six months I have my hormone levels tested. I take a lab order from my endocrinology office, pop into a local clinic, have blood drawn, and see my endocrinologist a week later to review the results.
It was during today’s review that we discovered the lab had missed a test. It was okay - my provider was still able to make sense of the results.
However, I did give the clinic a call to find out what happened. I really, really like them - they are very pleasant to deal with, there’s no waiting, and their pricing is very reasonable.
However, this is the third time something like this has happened; so I gave them a call to figure out what the problem was and what I could do to avoid it in future.
Her: “Hi, this is [the laboratory]. How can I help you today?” Me: “Hi, this is Lauren. I think I might be missing a test result?” Her: “Well let’s see if we can find it for you, Ms. Lauren.”
I already like this person - calling me ‘miss’ instantly melts my heart!
Her: “Can I have your date of birth?” Me: “Sure, it’s- oh god, I just remembered I’m forty again.” Her: *Laughter* Her: “That’s okay! Welcome to the club.”
Seriously, this is one of the best personal interactions I’ve had all day!
Her: “So what test do you think you’re missing, Ms. Lauren?” Me: “Uh... testosterone.” Her: “Oh. Oh!” Me: “Yeah... Probably the last one you would have guessed!” Her: *More laughter*
It took some digging through their records, but this wonderful person helped me figure out that my lab order did indeed have a testosterone reading on it, and that this was overlooked. (Most likely because the lab order is a piece of paper that the blood draw technician is required to read and then re-enter into a terminal; there’s much lost between finger and screen!)
Going forward, I’ll be keeping a much closer eye on which tests were ordered and what was actually entered into the system - hopefully that way nothing else gets missed!