Lawsuit over B.C. cancer death raises questions of test result responsibility

A recent death and lawsuit in B.C. have raised the question of who is ultimately responsible for getting medical test results to you if there is reason to be concerned and a follow-up is required.

Shannon Nolting alleges her husband’s positive test for melanoma was never communicated to them after a biopsy on a mole was done at a B.C. hospital in October 2007 following a visit to a walk-inclinic. In May 2012, Eric Nolting saw another doctor about unexplained weight loss and was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer.

Eric passed away in December 2012 at the age of 38. A lawsuit has been filed against several physicians, the walk-in clinic, and the hospital where the biopsy was done for failing to convey results.

In Alberta it is the physician’s responsibility to follow up with test results.

“From the college’s point of view, the responsibility rests with the physician who ordered the test,” said Kelly Eby, spokesperson for the College of Physicians and Surgeons Alberta.

CPSA has a standard of practice on continuity of care that goes into the details in legal language, said Eby.

“If I am Dr. Bob and I order a test for Barb and I go on holiday I need to make sure that there is somebody in my office, a physician, who is designated to follow-up,” said Eby.

Whether the physician is in Bora Bora or at the cabin for the weekend there is a responsibility to ensure test results are acknowledged and, if necessary, the need for a follow-up conveyed, she explained.

A local physician recently told the News of specifically checking test results, accessible online, while away on a family vacation in another country.

While the physician who ordered the test is responsible for contacting the patient if the test results raise concerns there is no reason why patients can’t keep track of their test results for their own records. This could be done when you next see your physician.

“I think it is quite a reasonable request for any patient if they haven’t heard anything to ask,” said Eby. “Whether or not they will actually give you a copy of the test results depends on how the office works and perhaps there will be a fee applied for printing the document.”

There are numerous benefits to having a complete record of tests in your own personal medical file at home. It keeps track of test results and in future you may be very glad you can refer to those documents.

“The long-term plan for Alberta is that patients would have access to all of their own health information online,” said Eby. “That is the long term plan and I’m not sure what the time frame is.”

For the widow in B.C. there was another shock after her husband’s death. The company that had insured Eric’s life refused to pay out because the insurance had been acquired after that biopsy was done in 2007. They allege Eric failed to disclose he had been diagnosed with melanoma.