4 Topic Commentaries

Top 10 evidence-based essentials in radiology

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  Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD

  Radiology; Epidemiology & Biostatistics

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  University of California, San Francisco

  Medical imaging is an important part of health care and contributes to accurate disease diagnosis and treatment, but it also can lead to patient harms such as incidental findings, overdiagnosis, anxiety and radiation exposure that is associated with an increased risk of cancer.

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  Pamela Johnson, MD

  Radiology; Quality & Safety

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  Johns Hopkins Health System

  It’s a pretty complicated system, but it is designed to protect patients from expensive tests unless they are necessary.

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  Lawrence Dauer, PhD

  Medical Physics; Radiation Safety

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  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  We don't order a test unless it's justified [and] the benefit outweighs the risk.

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  Diana Miglioretti, PhD

  Biostatistics; Public Health

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  University of California, Davis

  However, they’re still far lower in Ontario than in the U.S., suggesting there is additional room for improvement. It’s also important to reduce unnecessary imaging in adults given they are also at risk of radiation-induced cancers.

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