From the March 2019 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
The pediatric radiologist often faces an uphill battle when communicating radiation risk to patients. Physicians frequently encounter a fear of radiation that has been stoked by embellishments and mixed messages throughout the literature and popular culture. These challenges are compounded by the unclear carcinogenic effects of radiation at the low levels utilized in radiology. Nevertheless, the consulting radiologist should feel obliged to become familiar with the available literature, and skilled at synthesizing this information accurately and transparently. Our patients and families depend on us to be responsible stewards of this knowledge as it emerges in the coming years.
About the author: Dr. Ramesh S. Iyer, M.D., is an associate professor of pediatric radiology at Seattle Children's Hospital, where he is the director of radiology quality improvement. He also chairs the quality and safety committee for the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR).
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