Key points
- Run recalls and results as two lists, with a named owner and a deadline against every item.
- Patient reminder and recall raised immunisation uptake by 8 percentage points across 55 studies and 138,625 people.1
- In 23 US practices, the share of abnormal results with no record that the patient was told ranged from 0% to 26.2%, and simpler results processes had lower rates.2
- wai drafts each result explanation for the clinician to sign and each recall for the team to approve, and the log shows what is still waiting.68
Summary
Run recalls and results as two owned lists. Every recall has a due date and an invitation sent before it. Every result has a named clinician who reads it, records a decision and approves the message the patient receives. A daily list of anything without an owner or a decision keeps both lists moving.
Patients receive their screening invitation before the due date, with a link to book, and their result with an explanation from the clinician who ordered it. The front desk gets there by treating every recall and every result as an item of work with a name against it.
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| Item | Owner | Limit the clinic sets | Patient message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routine normal result | Requesting clinician decides, team sends | For example 3 working days | Approved wording signed off by a clinician |
| Abnormal or unexpected result | Requesting clinician | Same working day | Explanation signed by the clinician, or a call |
| Result with no reader after the limit | Clinical lead | Next working day | None until a clinician has reviewed it |
| Result read with no decision recorded | Reading clinician | Same working day | None until the decision is recorded |
| Screening or treatment recall due | Front desk, set by the clinician | Invitation before the due date | Drafted invitation with a booking link, approved by the team |
| Recall with no booking | Front desk | Two follow-ups, then flagged to the clinician | Reminder with the reason the check matters |
Two lists with a name against every item
Keep each recall and each result as a work item with an owner and a deadline, on a list the whole team can see. A named list keeps moving when a clinician is on leave.
Recalls and screening due dates
A Cochrane review of 75 studies in 10 countries found that patient reminder and recall, by text, letter, postcard or phone, raised immunisation uptake, with a risk ratio of 1.28 and a risk difference of 8 percentage points across 55 studies and 138,625 participants.1 Text messages alone gave a risk ratio of 1.29 across six studies.1
Let the patient book from the invitation itself. When Mayo Clinic paired automated screening mammogram orders with an invitation to self-schedule, 24.4% of self-scheduling happened after hours or at weekends, and 93.5% of exclusively self-scheduled appointments were finalised in a single step.5 No-shows were 5.7% for self-scheduled mammograms against 4.6%, so keep the reminder before the visit.5
The recall list covers screening intervals, repeat bloods, medication reviews and treatment follow-ups. Each entry carries the due date, the clinician who set it and the wording the patient will receive.
From arrival to a decision
A systematic review of 19 US studies found that 6.8% to 62% of laboratory tests and 1.0% to 35.7% of radiology results were not followed up, and few guidelines said who was responsible for telling the patient.3
Across 5,434 patient records in 23 US primary care practices, the apparent failure to inform patients of abnormal results was 7.1%, from 0% to 26.2% by practice, and practices with simpler, more complete results processes had lower rates.2 Results follow up and Regulation 12 sets out what a UK regulator expects of that process.
Record against every result the clinician who read it, when, and the decision, including a decision that no action is needed.
Who tells the patient
Write the rule down for each kind of result. A normal routine result goes as a team message in wording a clinician has signed off. The clinician explains an abnormal or unexpected result, in a message they sign or in a call.
In a 2022 survey at four US academic medical centres, 95.7% of 7,859 respondents preferred to receive results immediately through a portal, including 95.3% of those with non-normal results.4 Reading results before a clinician made contact increased worry for 16.5% of those with abnormal results and 5.0% of those with normal ones.4 Sending the clinician's explanation with the result gives patients the speed and the reassurance.
Drafted by wai, signed by the clinician
wai drafts result explanations from the record and holds them for the clinician to check and sign, and the signature is what sends them.68
wai Admin chases outstanding results and runs recalls around the clock, drafting each invitation in the clinic's voice for the team to approve.7 Every draft, approval and signature goes into an event log the clinic can export, so on any morning the clinic can see what is still waiting.8
The daily unread list
One person runs one list every morning of every stalled item, using the categories and limits in the table below. Clear it daily for the first month and weekly after that, aiming for an empty list by ten each morning.
Where to start
Export every open result and every recall due in the next 90 days, put a name against each, and mark any result older than seven days with no decision recorded.
Write the rule on who tells the patient for your five most common tests, have a clinician approve the routine wording, and start the daily list. After a month, measure time from result to clinician decision, time from decision to patient message, and the share of recalls sent before their due date.
Bring your current results inbox and recall list. We show each item with an owner, a drafted message and its place in the log.
Frequently asked questions
Who should tell a patient their test result?
The requesting clinician owns it. Routine normal results can go as a team message with clinician-approved wording, and abnormal results are explained by the clinician.
Can AI write results messages to patients?
How do we make sure no result is missed?
Keep a daily list of results with no reader, no decision or no message, each with a time limit and an owner. In one US study, failure to inform rates ranged from 0% to 26.2% depending on the practice's process.2
Do recalls by text message work?
Yes. In a Cochrane review, text reminders raised immunisation uptake with a risk ratio of 1.29 across six studies.1
Should patients see results before the clinician contacts them?
Most want to. 95.7% of respondents in a US multisite survey preferred immediate access.4 Send the clinician's explanation with the result so the two arrive together.
What should a recall message include?
The reason in general terms, the due date and a link to book, with a way to ask a question. Keep clinical detail to wording a clinician has approved.
Sources
- 1Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Jacobson Vann and colleagues, 2018Patient reminder and recall interventions to improve immunization ratesRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Archives of Internal Medicine, Casalino and colleagues, 2009Frequency of failure to inform patients of clinically significant outpatient test resultsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Journal of General Internal Medicine, Callen and colleagues, 2012Failure to follow-up test results for ambulatory patients, a systematic reviewRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4JAMA Network Open, Steitz and colleagues, 2023Perspectives of Patients About Immediate Access to Test Results Through an Online Patient PortalRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 5JMIR Medical Informatics, North and colleagues, 2021The Effect of Automated Mammogram Orders Paired With Electronic Invitations to Self-schedule on Mammogram Scheduling OutcomesRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6wai, 2026wai for clinicians, notes, letters and result explanationsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7wai, 2026wai Admin, the front desk and back officeRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026Security at waiRead 14 October 2026Read source
Every patient told in a clinician's words, and every recall sent before it is due.
Fifteen minutes on your own results and recalls, with every message drafted for your clinicians and team to approve. We reply within one working day.
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