By: John D. McAllister III, MD, Radiologist

What is a Radiologist?

A. Someone who studies radio waves.
B. A doctor who radiates cancer patients.
C. Someone who takes X-rays.
D. Someone who studies the effects of radiation.
E. None of the above.

If your answer was A, B, C, or D, you share a common misunderstanding with many other consumers. If you picked “E”, do you know what a radiologist does?

Your radiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries by using medical imaging techniques. These techniques include not just X-rays, but also mammography, ultrasound, CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), PET (positron emission tomography), and other nuclear medicine tests. Radiologists read the images produced by these techniques and send written reports to your doctor after such tests. The radiologist directs radiologic technologists (personnel who operate the equipment) to properly perform these types of studies.

The radiologist has graduated from an accredited medical school, passed a licensing examination, and completed a residency of at least four years in the field of radiology. The majority of radiologists also complete a fellowship – one to two additional years of specialized training in a particular subspecialty of radiology, such as breast imaging or neuroradiology.

More simply, a radiologist is a medical doctor (MD/DO) and acts as an expert consultant to your doctor – your doctor’s doctor. A radiologist will help your doctor to choose the proper examination and interpret the resulting medical images so that you are properly diagnosed and treated. In fact, if you’re a patient having an imaging study performed, you should consider the doctor who reads these studies YOUR RADIOLOGIST. Your radiologist has the right training, knowledge and experience to properly direct your medical care.

When your referring doctors tell you that they have reviewed your studies, what they usually mean is that they have reviewed the radiologist’s report or have gone over the study with your radiologist. Radiologists are at the forefront of imaging technology and are the leaders of involvement in implementation of CT, MR, PET, and ultrasound, as well as interventional radiology procedures. Radiologists insure quality and safety in diagnostic imaging in the vast majority of radiology centers by following the guidelines and quality standards set forth by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

As a patient, you can choose among many facilities when you need an imaging study performed. The equipment used to perform your study is unknown to you and, often, to your doctor, and its quality may vary widely; you may be having studies that are performed on equipment that is not as technically advanced as the newer and more expensive equipment available. Some facilities, particularly MRI facilities, will not even have a radiologist on site; these studies are outsourced to a radiologist who often lives out-of-state and sometimes even out of the country! Under these circumstances, “your radiologist” is a physician you will never meet and whose name you may never know.

Unfortunately, some entrepreneurs have viewed imaging centers as having potential for high profits and often buy low-end or even used equipment, such as low field open MRI units, which cannot produce the quality of images of the higher field open units or high field magnets. These facilities will heavily market to referring physicians and the public, misrepresenting the quality of their images and avoiding the topic of where and by whom the studies are being interpreted. Not infrequently, patients who visit these facilities will eventually require further studies at a different facility with better equipment so that an accurate diagnosis can be made. Neurosurgeons often insist on high field MR studies prior to performing an operation.

If you are a patient, or a patient’s family member, be aware of your options- most insurance companies offer a selection of imaging providers, and, while your doctor may have a preference, the choice is ultimately yours. The facility you choose should have a name you trust, which typically means the facility has been in the community for a long time, with a staff of established radiologists. The facility should be staffed at all times by the radiologists so they may assure a quality study. Radiologists who live and work in the community take pride in their facility and the quality of their work, while an outsourced radiologist living in another state who has never set foot in the imaging facility may have no such mind-set. Ask questions of the radiology center. What field strength is your MRI unit? If it is an open unit, is it one of the newer high field open units now available? Insist that any facility providing your medical imaging care be accredited by the American College of Radiology. Get and stay involved with your medical care. Insist on quality and choose YOUR RADIOLOGIST. In doing so, your doctor’s doctor can be yours as well.

For more information or to schedule an appointment contact Papastavros’ Associates at 302-999-XRAY (9729) in New Castle County: or 302-644-XRAY (9729) in Sussex County.