Radiologists Suffering Identity Crisis

For years, the mystery novelist Carl Hiaasen has slyly joked in his popular whodunits that radiologists were not actually doctors.

It remains to be seen whether Hiaasen's tongue-in-cheek claim has had any purchase with his readers, but a recent survey concludes the author and the American public in general tend to be on the same page regarding the medical specialty.

According to a survey of more than 300 patients undertaken at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, just over 64% had no idea what radiologists do. And just over 53% of those patients knew that radiologists wephysicians. 

Just over 35% of patients said they had any understanding of the work encompassing the practice of radiology.

This was despite the fact that more than 83% said it was important to know who interprets their radiological exams, and the same percentage said they wanted copies of their radiology reports.

Slightly more than half of those patients surveyed had a college-level education or higher.

“Many patients would like to know more about the role of radiologists in their healthcare,” said the study's senior author, Richard B. Gunderman, M.D., a professor and vice chair of radiology at Indiana University.

The study suggested that radiologists make a greater effort to meet and interact with their patients. Data from the study concluded that those patients who had met their radiologists had a much greater grasp of the work they performed.

The's study's findings were presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting last week in Chicago.