Why do doctors make you wait for results that are obviously worrisome?

A facebook friend of mine had a stress test, and was told to come back in two weeks for results. He posted every other day about wanting to know the results. The doctor had told him to take an aspirin a day not necessarily related to the stress test, but as a typical measure given he is getting older, overweight, and some other factors. I reassured him that I believed, in my nonmedical opinion, nothing in his testing will be dire or need immediate attention. Most likely everything will show normal or will be something to watch and retest in the future. I encouraged him to ask if he can get the results sooner since it was driving him crazy, and since there is going to be nothing to discuss since it will be normal. LOL. Again, in my nonmedical opinion, based on all the people I know who have had heart disease.

When I had a stress test I knew right there and then everything was fine. I guess maybe sometimes it doesn’t get reviewed immediately, but my doctor was in the room when I did it. When my dad had one they did not let him finish it. They made him stop and scheduled the angiogram then and there.

Don’t doctors have any empathy for what people go through when they have tests done. Why don’t they understand we want to know the results right away. My thyroid test takes one day to come back, why does the doctor need a week to call me or release the tests to me? Some states allow patients to see lab results directly from the lab.

I’m hoping a doctor has a good explanation so I can be calmer about it.

I am not even talking about whether they insist on a patient coming back to the office for results, that is a separate frustration of mine. Some doctors do it, some don’t.