Part of doing research at an academic institution requires consenting patients to participate in research studies involving radiation exposure. I’m always amazed at the number of patients that have no idea that their clinically ordered procedure involves radiation, because nobody took the time to explain this. Patients read the papers, they watch the news and they are fully aware of the ongoing media frenzy surrounding radiation in medicine. Patients often ask me, “Is it safe?” While the risk/benefit debate about ionizing radiation exposure continues to be a hot topic in the medical community, we must not forget to keep our patients in the loop.
Educating patients that radiation often is necessary in medicine can be extremely challenging – but it is more critical now than it has ever been. Talking to a patient about radiation exposure is much different than talking to your radiology colleague, especially when the true incremental risk to patients from medical radiation is still under much debate. There needs to be a coordinated effort at each institution to make sure that patients are receiving correct and accurate information about radiation. The imaging community needs to work together to devise websites and reading materials that educate the public about radiation exposure and risks versus benefits of imaging with radiation. Everyone involved in patient care must understand radiation, radiation risks, alternatives to scanning and what techniques are used to keep dose as low as possible.
Resources on explaining radiation to patients:
2. “How to Explain Radiation Risk” from the Washington State Department of Health
3. Wanzhen Zeng’s “Communicating Radiation Exposure: A Simple Approach”