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Email templates · Doctor's office

Email to a doctor's office to follow up on test results

You had blood drawn, a scan, a biopsy or another test, the office said you would hear back in a few days, and it has been longer than that. Or the results appeared in your patient portal, the website where the practice posts your records, but nobody has told you what they mean. Calling gets you a hold queue and a message slip that may never reach the doctor. An email, sent to the practice's general address or through the portal's messaging, lands in a queue someone has to clear, and it leaves a dated record that you asked. That record matters if a result turns out to be one that needed action.

Before you send

  • The date of the test, what was tested, and where it was done. If the sample went to an outside lab, name it; results sometimes sit at the lab waiting for a doctor's sign-off.
  • The name of the doctor who ordered it and what they said about timing when you left.
  • Whether you already see the results in your portal. Many practices now post results as soon as the lab finishes, which can be before the doctor has read them, so a number with no comment is not the same as "everything is fine."
  • What you need from the reply: the results themselves, a plain-language explanation, or a decision about next steps. Ask for one of those clearly.
  • How you want to be reached and when. A direct phone number and a good window saves a round of phone tag.
Subject Following up on [test name] results from [date of test] 
Hi [practice name] team,

I had [test name, for example a blood panel or a chest X-ray] on [date], ordered by Dr. [doctor's last name], and I was told to expect results within [what you were told, for example a week]. I haven't heard anything yet.

Could you let me know whether the results are back? If they are, could Dr. [doctor's last name] or a nurse send me a short note on what they show and whether I need to do anything, such as book a follow-up or start a medication?

[If you see them in the portal: I can see the numbers in the portal but there's no comment from the doctor, so I'm not sure how to read them.]

The best way to reach me is [phone number], [days and times you're free]. If the results aren't back, a quick reply saying when to expect them would be enough.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your date of birth, so they can find your chart]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The usual reply is a portal message or a call within a day or two saying the results are in and either "all normal" or "the doctor wants to see you." Either one is an answer. Save it.
  • A bad reply is "the doctor hasn't reviewed them yet" with no date. Reply once and ask for a specific day you will hear back, and say you'll follow up then if you haven't.
  • If a week passes with nothing, call the office and ask for the office manager or your doctor's nurse, and mention the date of your email. Written plus phone gets attention that either one alone does not.
  • If the office never responds and you still need the numbers, ask the lab directly or request a copy of your records. Your results belong to you.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Chase down my test results 
Hi StandIn,

Please get my test results from my doctor's office and find out whether I need to do anything about them.

The test: [what was tested and where it was done].
Date of the test: [date].
The practice and doctor: [practice name, doctor's name, phone or email].
What I was told about timing: [what the office said].
What I can see so far: [nothing / numbers in the portal with no comment].
Best way to reach me: [phone number and good times].

Follow up every couple of days until they give a real answer, and if the results are in, ask for a plain-language note from the doctor and pass it along to me.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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