how long will it take to hear back about test results?
If your GP orders blood, radiology or other tests during your consultation, they will usually tell you how long you can expect it to take for the test results to be received by our practice, which will vary depending on the type of tests ordered.
As a general guide:
most radiology reports (such as an x-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI) and ECG reports are sent to us within 48 hours;
most blood test results are sent to us within 48 hours, however some test may take up to fourteen days;
urine test results are usually sent to us within three working days;
faeces test results are usually sent to us within five working days;
flu swab results are usually sent to us within two working days, but they can take a few days longer during peak flu season if the pathology provider has a significant number of samples to test;
fungal analysis results usually take one week for a preliminary result, and four weeks for the final result.
Please do not contact us about results unless you have waited at least the period of time indicated above for the tests you had conducted (even if the pathology/radiology person taking or performing the test indicates a shorter period, as they are often unaware of the steps involved in results being reported and sent by the testing company and then being received and reviewed by our clinic).
Once your test results are received by our practice, they will be reviewed by the GP that referred you for the test (or another GP if the referring GP is on leave). This will take at least a few hours given our GPs are seeing patients throughout the day, and it may take a day or so if the referring GP doesn’t work every day. However, if anything urgent arises in the results, the result will be flagged by the testing company so that one of our GPs knows to review them and we will contact you as soon as necessary.
how will i be contacted about results?
When your tests reveal an abnormality that requires a discussion with the referring GP, we will send you an SMS to let you know that you need to book a follow-up appointment (unless you do not have a mobile phone or you ask us to not send you messages by SMS, in which case we will call you instead), or your GP will call you directly. If we don’t hear from you, we’ll continue to chase you up, either by SMS or phone call, and we may try to contact your emergency contact or another family member to check we have the correct contact details and/or to see if they can reach you. We may eventually send you a letter to the email address and/or postal address you have registered with us if we cannot get through to you.
If the tests reveal an urgent abnormality, our nurse or reception staff will call you as soon as possible to book an appointment with a GP to discuss the results, or your GP will call you directly. If we cannot get in contact with you, we will keep trying to call, and we might also SMS you and/or also leave a voicemail. If we still cannot get in contact with you, we may try to contact your emergency contact or another family member to check we have the correct contact details and/or to see if they can reach you, and/or email you.
If the results do not show anything that is concerning to the referring GP, you will not normally be contacted. However, you may be able to ask your GP when they order the tests if they can arrange for you to be sent an SMS to let you know that the results need no action, or to send you a copy of your results once they come in and are normal. If you are still suffering from symptoms or you have concerns about the results, you can book an appointment to discuss with the GP.
If you don’t hear from us within the expected time frame for the result, you should contact us to confirm that we have received your results and to find out whether you need to book a follow-up appointment (just in case your sample has gone missing, or the results have not been sent to us properly). We’ll take a message and ensure that you are either called back, or are sent an SMS. Rest assured that if your results have any urgent findings, we will try to contact you as soon as possible.
how do i obtain a Copy of my test results?
If you would like a copy of your test results, please request a copy at your follow-up appointment - we can print or email you a copy.
If you have been advised that you aren’t required to attend a follow-up appointment, you can call us to request a copy of your results. We can provide either a printed copy for you to collect from our reception desk, or we can send you a copy by email (refer to our Email Policy).
Note that for radiology results, we can only provide a copy of the radiologist’s report - we are unable to provide you with the images. Please contact the radiology provider if you require a copy of images.
more information about tests
If you have any queries regarding results, you can call us. Our reception staff can:
confirm whether any results have been received; and
confirm whether results that have yet been received have been reviewed by a GP yet, and whether or not the GP believes any follow up action is required.
However, the the reception staff are NOT able to discuss specific results with you (and neither are our nurses), particularly where the GP has flagged the matter as something that needs to be discussed with them in a consultation.
Our GPs are not able to take phone calls from patients regarding test results (as they are busy seeing patients throughout the day), so you will need to book an appointment with a GP if you want to discuss your test result. In most cases, your follow-up appointment can be a Phone Consultation.
Rest assured that if your results have any urgent findings, we will contact you as soon as possible, as discussed above.
Finally, you can refer to the following websites for more information about pathology and radiology tests - these websites are both reliable and designed to be easy for non-professionals to understand: