The Delivery Rates of Pathology Test Results to Patients: A Single-Center Experience in a Secondary Referral Center

BACKGROUND: Delivery of pathology reports to the patient is a key step in the biopsy pathway, which is important for patient safety in dermatology. Automated systems for facilitating such medical process began in 2010 in our hospital, sending short message service to scheduled patients. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the delivery of pathology reports to patients and investigate factors that influence this process and annual trends. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all outpatients (n=2,452) who underwent skin biopsy at our department of dermatology in 2009 and 2014. In each year group, we analyzed the proportion of revisiting patients in terms of year, sex, age, season, biopsy method and diagnosis. RESULTS: In 2009, a smaller proportion of patients (205; 91.5%) who had undergone shave or excisional biopsy than of those who had undergone punch biopsy returned (781; 98.0%; p<0.001). This trend was not significant in 2014. Whereas there was no significant difference of return visit ratio between men and women in 2009, a higher proportion of women (754; 98.0%) than men (633; 95.6%) re-visited after skin biopsy to confirm their diagnosis in 2014 (p=0.008). Three patients with either a malignant tumor or suspected malignant lesion that required complete excision did not return to our clinic. CONCLUSION: Pathology report delivery rates were fairly satisfactory, regardless of year, age, season, and diagnosis. Sex and biopsy method influenced the return visit ratio. More organized follow-up protocols are required to strengthen patient safety and prevent critical patient drop-out.