How Well Are We Respecting Patient Privacy in Medical Imaging? Lessons Learnt From a Departmental Audit

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Imaging
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Experience Research

Background:

• Patient privacy and dignity are fundamental in healthcare settings.
• The Department of Medical Imaging (MI) is a critical area where patient privacy must be maintained.
• Assessing patient satisfaction with privacy is essential for quality assurance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit patient satisfaction with privacy within the Department of Medical Imaging (MI) at the Ottawa Hospital.
• To evaluate privacy perceptions across different imaging modalities: MRI, CT, US, and XR.
• To identify specific areas within MI that impact patient privacy perceptions.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to outpatients undergoing MRI, CT, US, and XR examinations.
• Patients ranked privacy in five key locations on a 6-point scale (1=no privacy, 6=excellent).
• Data collection occurred over a consecutive five-day period, yielding 502 completed surveys.

Main Results:

• High overall patient satisfaction with privacy was observed across all modalities.
• Privacy scores of 5 or higher (good to excellent) were achieved by 98% for MRI, 96% for CT, 94% for US, and 92% for XR.
• Privacy in MRI reception and waiting areas received significantly higher ratings compared to other modalities.

Conclusions:

• Patient privacy is generally well-maintained within the Department of Medical Imaging.
• The findings support a high level of patient confidence in privacy measures during imaging procedures.
• Specific attention to MRI reception and waiting areas may further enhance privacy perceptions.