Addendum
Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
Something added after the report was first signed — a correction, a second thought, or a comparison with older images that turned up later. The addendum is the current version: where it disagrees with the original text, it wins.
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Where you'll see this
Appended at the end, dated later than the rest of the report.
Your report may word it “Addended report” or “Amended report”. These mean the same thing.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- Which part of this report is the conclusion I should focus on?
- Was the question my doctor asked actually answered by this scan?
- Is there an earlier report or addendum I should be reading alongside this one?
How often does this turn up?
An addendum is text added to a report after it was first issued, and it is a normal part of radiology practice rather than an unusual event. Reports are commonly addended when previous imaging arrives late, when a second radiologist reviews the study, when a correction is needed, or when a verbal conversation with the referring doctor is being recorded.
Does it mean something is wrong?
Seeing one can be unsettling, and it is worth knowing that most addenda are administrative rather than substantive. The important thing is practical: an addendum may change the conclusion, so the original impression is no longer necessarily the final word. Read both, and if they differ, the addendum is the current position. Where an addendum corrects something significant, the radiologist will normally have contacted the referring doctor directly rather than relying on the document being re-read.
What to do with it
What follows depends entirely on what the addendum says. Frequently it adds comparison with an older study that arrived after the report was issued, which typically resolves uncertainty rather than creating it. If your report has one and you cannot tell what changed, that is a reasonable and specific thing to ask your doctor.
Frequently asked questions
- Does an addendum mean a mistake was made?
- Usually not. The most common reasons are prior imaging arriving after the report was issued, a second radiologist adding an opinion, or a phone conversation being documented. Corrections do happen and are recorded openly, which is how it should work.
- Which version should I read?
- Both, and treat the addendum as the current position. It was written later and with more information, so where the two differ it supersedes the original.
- Will my doctor know about it?
- Yes. Addenda are attached to the same report in the system, and where one changes the conclusion significantly the radiologist usually contacts the referring doctor directly as well.
Parts of a report
Where this word comes up
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