Short Takes - 2005-02-08

Doctors often don't have key information when seeing or treating patients, according to a University of Colorado study. Researchers reviewed more than 1,600 doctor-patient encounters in an eight-month period in 2003 and found important pieces of clinical information were not available in almost 1 out of every 7 visits. Lab results were missing in 6.1% of all visits, radiology results in 3.8% of visits, and information medication was unavailable 3.2% of the time. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.