Notice The following statement was prepared by the Commonwealth Cervical Screening Program and endorsed by the RANZCOG and the RACGP in May 2001: The appropriate standard of care for a woman who has a Pap smear is that she should have her results communicated to her. It is not sufficient to tell a woman 'If you do not hear from us, then everything is alright'. At the time of taking a Pap smear, the practitioner should clearly establish with the woman a mutually acceptable method of providing the results to her. It is important to ensure fail-safe arrangements are in place as abnormal results can go astray. Some groups of women, including those living in rural or remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from non-English speaking backgrounds and homeless women will need consideration in relation to the method of notification for both normal and abnormal results. In most cases, if the results show no abnormalities, the most appropriate method of notification would be either by telephone or letter, or even email. If the laboratory provides a pre-printed section of a Pap smear report for a woman, this could be a useful method for providing the results by letter. In the case of abnormalities, the practitioner should arrange appropriate follow-up. The practitioner should keep records of the method of notification. Where a woman requests a copy of the laboratory report of her Pap smear from the practitioner who first performed the Pap smear, this copy should be provided both to the woman and her usual general practitioner, if the practitioner that performed the Pap smear is not her usual general practitioner. The practitioner
may find it useful to provide women with an information sheet, which
includes a checklist that indicates the agreed way of notification. |
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© RANZCOG |
