Since 2008,
after each external patient’s CT scan or MRI examination in our institution,
we offer a satisfaction questionnaire that the patient fills out of their own volition,
in paper form or on a digital tablet.
Many data are collected (modes and delays for making appointments and deadlines,
assessment of hospitality by administrative teams and care,
sense of safety,
modes and delays in obtaining results,
consultation with the radiologist,
etc...).
Results over 8 years period have been detailed in an ECR 2016 presentation (1) (84% overall satisfaction,
low response rate: under 1%).
We review them every year (table 1 including 2018),
in order to improve the items and topics and results achieved.
In our institution,
patient radiation safety information is provided by specific links established on our website (French authorities : ASN-Autorité de Sureté nucléaire,
IRSN-Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté nucléaire ,
SFR-Société Française de Radiologie),
by posters in the waiting and examination rooms,
by consent forms (published by the French Society of Radiology),
and of course by technician staff and radiologists during the stay.
Patients likely to be pregnant,
complete and sign a specific questionnaire.
We do not have pediatric patients.
Until now,
no item relating to knowledge or information received by our patients on radiation protection was specified on our satisfaction questionnaire.
However,
since its introduction a box is left free to allow patients to expressing their wishes and questions (Fig.2 in french-Fig.3 translated).
A retrospective reading of these open-responses boxes was completed at the end of 2018,
from 1114 questionnaires obtained after a CT scanner (on a total of 2847 questionnaires obtained since 2008).
This has identified just 3 points concerning radiation protection (2 patients were astonished to be asked if they were likely to be pregnant,
when they came for a CT of the sinuses for one,
of the brain for the other; on the other hand,
a third patient was amazed that a Systematic test of pregnancy was not required before any CT scan).
This very low rate (< 3/1000),
would tend to make us think that our patients are well informed...
or maybe on the contrary are totally ignorant or not spontaneously interested in these data.
The share of medical irradiation in the general radiation of the population is constantly growing,
it evolves with the continued growth in the use of medical imaging applications (2,
3).
Informing patients about radiation protection prior to CT scan may certainly create anxiety (4),
but obviously seems necessary (5,
6,
7).
Although the notion of risk from radiation (medical or otherwise) varies widely in the general population (4),
and also in our patients (8),
the notions of risk,
limitations of doses (9),
but especially justification (10),
and optimization of examinations that we perform,
which are the foundation of radiation protection of patients,
should be the key messages that are passed to them (11).
However this information seems partial (12),
wich seems to corroborate our retrospective assessment.
We therefore felt it was necessary to add to our questionnaire in December 2018,
a specific question concerning radiation protection '”Do you receive enough information about medical radiation and its possible effects ?”,
which will help us to quantify information actually received/perceived by the patient on this matter in the future in a more precise way.