He or she will also see when the next mammogram should be scheduled, and so on. Well-baby visits are planned for the entire first year. Through the Northern California region of Kaiser, lists of women who should get a mammogram are generated periodically. Sometimes calls are made. In the case of a preventive test, such as cholesterol or a normal Pap smear, a letter will be sent out.
Some clinics have a lab line patients can call.
All of these findings and transactions, ideally, are entered in the patient's chart. In a sense, the doctor and patient have different points of view at the time a test is performed. The ball is in someone else's court for a while. The latter can raise expectations and create a craving for attention. I would come in, they had all my test results, and they'd go through each one telling me what it meant.