Missed Hypothyroidism Diagnosis Uncovered by Linking Laboratory and Pharmacy
Data
G. Schiff, S. Kim, et. al.
Archives of Internal Medicine – March 14, 2005
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/165/5/574

The authors linked laboratory and pharmacy databases to determine if such
linkages would potentially uncover diagnostic errors and to determine the
frequency of failed follow-up in cases of elevated levels of thyroid-stimulating
hormone. The study found that there was no follow-up for abnormal TSH results
in more than 2% of patients and another 5% of the patients were lost to
follow-up and possibly not aware of their results.