“That’s still a common phrase you might from the doctor after you’ve have some lab test, biopsy or imaging study like a CT scan. Sometimes the doctor will say “If you don’t hear from me, everything is fine.” Well, given the complexity and comprehensiveness of medical exams nowadays, that’s probably not a good idea. And honestly, it’s never been a good idea to assume no news is good news.
Nearly every physician knows some instance where he/she or a colleague missed an important lab result. Either the report never came to them, or it was misfiled, or they simply didn’t notice the abnormal result. In fact, it happens nearly 8 percent of the time. There used to be a phrase when I was training — “WNL” — it’s supposed to mean “within normal limits” for a lab result but at times it also meant “we never looked” when the workload was simply overwhelming.”
Article
John Whyte, HuffingtonPost, 18 January 2012
