Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Radiologists have been telling themselves they need to forge closer relationships with patients, but is that really what patients want? Yes and no, according to a presentation at this week's American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) meeting in San Diego.
Associate Editor Kate Madden Yee was on hand in San Diego as researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital discussed how they surveyed patients to see how they prefer to receive exam results. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), most patients indicated they would prefer to get results from their referring physicians, while a small minority said they'd prefer to speak with a radiologist.
Does this mean that radiologists should give up on getting closer to patients? Not necessarily, according to the researchers, who said that other findings from the survey are more positive. Find out what they are by clicking here.
Mammography radiation dose estimates
In other news from ARRS 2014, how well do women really understand the radiation dose they're getting from mammography screening?
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles surveyed more than 1,300 women presenting for screening mammography, asking them to rank the amount of radiation from a screening mammogram compared to five other types of typical radiation exposure, such as average yearly background exposure.
They found that the women on average overestimated how much dose they would receive from a screening mammogram -- a belief that could be significant if they were deciding whether to undergo screening. Learn more by clicking here.
You should also check out this story on how digital breast tomosynthesis in diagnostic workup reduced the need for follow-up ultrasound and biopsies.
Be sure to check back on AuntMinnie.com as we continue to file daily reports from ARRS 2014. Also follow our Twitter feed, @AuntMinnie, for up-to-the-minute news.
