Your Radiologist

Your radiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing disease and injury by using medical imaging techniques such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound. Because some of these imaging techniques involve the use of radiation, adequate training in and understanding of radiation safety and protection is important.
Your radiologist has graduated from an accredited medical school, passed a licensing examination, and completed a residency of at least 4 years of unique postgraduate medical education in, among other topics:

• Radiation safety/protection
• Radiation effects on the human body
• Appropriate performance and interpretation of quality radiological and medical imaging examinations

Your Radiologist Plays a Key Role in Your Health By:

• Acting as an expert consultant to your referring physician (the doctor who sent you to the radiology department or clinic for testing) by aiding him or her in choosing the proper examination, interpreting the resulting medical images, and in using test results in your care.
• Correlating medical image findings with other examinations and tests.
• Recommending further appropriate examinations or treatments when necessary, and conferring with referring physicians.
• Directing radiology technologists (personnel who operate the equipment) in the proper performance of quality exams.

Your Radiologist Has the Right Training, Knowledge, and Experience

When your referring doctors tell you they have reviewed your studies, what they usually mean is that they have reviewed the radiology report or gone over the study with your radiologist.

What You Should Know About Quality and Safety in Medical Imaging

Radiological procedures such as CT, MRI, and PET are medically prescribed and should only be used by appropriately trained and certified physicians under medically necessary circumstances.
Radiologists are medical doctors who have received at least 4 years of unique, specific, postmedical school training in radiation safety, the optimal performance of radiological procedures, and interpretation of medical images. Other medical specialties mandate far less imaging education, ranging from a few days to a maximum of 10 months. Use of medical imaging procedures by unqualified providers may needlessly expose you to radiation or radiation levels that could be unduly hazardous. It may also result in misdiagnosis or problems that are not diagnosed at all.