How to request a test: A clinician's guide to the interpretation and evaluation of medical tests

Medical tests consume considerable resources, and junior doctors often request many tests to ensure all bases are covered. This book helps medical students and junior doctors become experts at requesting tests, providing them with the basics of medical decision-making based on probability thresholds and real-life examples from multiple medical and surgical specialties. It also includes a novel checklist for doctors to consider when requesting a test, improving patients' outcomes.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 22 December 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Medical tests consume significant resources, yet making requests is often left to the most junior members of the team. Medical schools often underprepare junior doctors for these tasks, leading them to request numerous tests to ensure all bases are covered by the time a more senior colleague attends to the patient. The book begins with naïve questions such as "what is a medical test?" and "why do we perform tests?" It then covers the evaluation of tests from a public health perspective, helping readers determine whether a test should be introduced into clinical care. By describing the basics of medical decision-making based on probability thresholds, students will learn how to avoid unnecessary testing when results are unlikely to influence patient-relevant decisions. They will also explore the pros and cons of using metrics such as sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values. Illustrated throughout with real-life examples from multiple medical and surgical specialties, the book concludes with a novel checklist for doctors to consider every time they think of requesting a test. Written by a clinician for clinicians, this book is ideal for medical students and junior doctors. It provides everything they need to know to become experts at requesting tests. It will support them in requesting the most appropriate and effective tests, and inform them on how to interpret results, improving patients' outcomes.

Weight: 210g
Dimension: 234 x 155 x 7 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192866615