Radiologist as their doctor? What do patients think?

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- How Often Do Patients Think of a Radiologist as Their Doctor? By Mark E. Klein, MD


“Dear Dr. Klein,” the letter of complaint began, “it’s difficult for me to write this letter because I have always thought of you as my radiologist.” Mrs. B’s letter went on to excoriate our office for keeping her waiting during her most recent visit for a sonogram and bone density study.

She was completely correct; we messed up that day.

But Mrs. B’s harangue was significant for another reason. How often do patients think of a radiologist as their doctor? We know from surveys that it is far more common for patients to have no idea who interpreted their study, and in fact most Americans don’t know that radiologists are highly-trained physicians.

For the 60 years our practice has served patients in the Washington, DC, community, just about every physician in our radiology practice has had daily face time with patients, sometimes up to 30 or more per day. You may be thinking: “You guys are crazy. It’s incredibly inefficient. No way we could do that in our practice.” We have heard this refrain repetitively from other radiologists who rarely interact with patients.

See full article and related articles at DiagnosticImaging.com

This article was republished with permission from CMPMedica, LLC