When an emergency physician calls you to discuss a patient, which of these responses are you more likely to give?

A. “I diagnosed Mrs. Brown with a small bowel obstruction.”

B. “Mrs. Brown has a small bowel obstruction.”

I read several AuntMinnie.com forum posts discussing whether radiologists should “…make it clear and shift the conversation from ‘the patient has’ to ‘I made the diagnosis.’”

It seems clear that the original poster on the forum postulates that radiologists might benefit from highlighting their important contribution by putting it in a more active voice. His view merits consideration. Being available to referrers for questions certainly is important, but might making a little more show of your contribution in discussion, phone calls, and reports make a difference with referring physicians? That would be hard to measure or prove.

You could apply the same postulate to patients. Should radiologists wave their flags a little so patients see your contribution? Given that a large chunk of the population thinks radiologists are the people that perform X-rays, it might not be a bad idea. Patients rarely see you. The only interaction I’ve ever had with a radiologist in my or my kids’ care has been with the guy who inserted the PICC line when I needed IV antibiotics. For the record, Dr. Chen is a very personable man who smoothly explained the procedure, obtained my informed consent, and inserted the line. Another time when I’d taken my son for an X-ray, I did see someone scurry across the hall—a technologist told me she was a radiologist.

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