Patients urged to heed doctors' follow-up advice

A new AMA Position Statement on Patient Follow-Up, Recall, and Reminder Systems 2013 was released this week. The Position Statement has combined and updated the AMA Position Statement on Patient Follow-Up and Tracking 2000 (Revised 2002) and the AMA Position Statement on Patient Recall 1992.

AMA Vice President, Professor Geoffrey Dobb, said that appropriate systems must be in place to ensure that pathology, radiology, and any other investigative tests and/or referrals are properly initiated, acted upon, and the results communicated in a timely manner. Such systems must incorporate effective follow-up, recall, and reminders.