The Radiologist Will See You Now: Patients' Perceptions of an Outpatient Interventional Clinic

Abstract

Patient satisfaction is becoming an increasingly important part of America's healthcare system. Patient satisfaction is now a metric assessed for value-based incentive payments by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the healthcare market is becoming increasingly consumer-driven as patients are provided with more options regarding where they receive care as well as improved access to medical information. Radiologists, while less involved with direct patient care than other medical specialties, are not immune to the changing medical landscape and need to adapt to a progressively value- and patient-oriented healthcare system. At our institution, first-year radiology residents take an active role in our outpatient interventional radiology clinic by performing clinical histories and physical exams in a dedicated radiology clinic examination rooms. Stressing the various opportunities for patient interaction and the potential benefits of patient- centered radiology in the evolving healthcare system may increase its perceived value among both radiology residents as well as practicing radiologists. ​Directly engaging patients may be unfamiliar territory for the practicing radiologist and an unexpected prospect for current residents, but available data suggests that patients do value direct interaction with radiologists during the course of their care.