Healthcare overuse is an increasing problem with adverse consequences for patients and physicians, and serious economic implications [1]. Several attempts to deal with this problem have been made, most of which primarily involve healthcare providers. However, there is a general consensus that any strategy should also include the individual patient’s opinion and preferences [2]. In the last decades, a significant part of healthcare overuse is attributable to a massive increase in medical imaging [3]. This increase, mainly observed in Computerized Tomography (CT), has led some...

We carried out a quantitative and qualitative evaluation through a survey and focal groups to achieve a comprehensive picture of patients’ understanding of the benefits and risks associated with medical imaging and their opinions about how this type of information should be delivered. Quantitative study: We estimated that, for a precision of 5% with 95% confidence intervals, at least 384 people would be required to answer. To allow for analysis by subgroups we increased this number to 600. Sampling was carried out in stages and...

This study highlights the lack of knowledge in the general population and the limited information received from the health professionals regarding the radiation exposure associated with five different diagnostic imaging tests. Although more than 70% of the participants affirmed that they were aware of the risks associated with radiation exposure in imaging tests, only 30% of them knew that CT or mammography involve radiation. Moreover, 38% of the participants thought that MRI involves radiation. In the qualitative study, most of the participants stated that they...

Financial disclosure: This study has received funding by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Plan Nacional de I+D+I) PI13/01576 and co-funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). Role of the Sponsors: Funders had no involvement in any aspect of the design of this study, preparation of results, or decision to submit for publication.

1. Sheridan SL, Sutkowi-Hemstreet A, Barclay C et al. A Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Alternate Formats for Presenting Benefits and Harms Information for Low-Value Screening Services: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 2016;176:31-41. 2. Montori VM, Brito JP, Murad MH. The optimal practice of evidence-based medicine: incorporating patient preferences in practice guidelines. JAMA 2013;310:2503-4. 3. Elliott A. Issues in medical exposures. J Radiol Prot 2009;29:A107–A121 4. IAEA Smart Card/SmartRadTrack Project. Available at: https://rpop.iaea.org/RPOP/RPoP/Content/News/smart-card-project.htm. Accessed September 15, 2016. 5. European Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom on basic safety standards...