Understanding Patient Experiences, Opinions, and Actions Taken After Viewing Their Own Radiology Images Online:...

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Health Informatics
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Direct patient access to radiology images via secure electronic portals is uncommon in US healthcare.
• A prior survey indicated strong patient desire for online access to their radiology images.
• A new feature enabling online viewing of radiology images has been implemented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess patient experiences and opinions after viewing their radiology images online.
• To understand the actions patients took after accessing their medical images.
• To evaluate the impact of online image access on patient understanding and trust.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was distributed to patients who recently accessed their radiology images online.
• The survey targeted patients within a specific health system that implemented the feature.
• Response rate was 16.4% (299 out of 1825 surveys).

Main Results:

• A high percentage of patients (86.3%) reported a favorable experience viewing their radiology images online.
• Most patients found value in viewing both their radiology reports (96.3%) and images (89.3%).
• Patients reported increased medical understanding (82.9%), feelings of control (79.2%), reassurance (73.6%), and trust (71.6%).
• A small minority experienced worry (6.4%) or confusion (7%) when viewing images.
• Actions taken included saving images (32.8%), sharing with doctors (25.4%), and seeking second opinions (14.7%).
• Technical difficulties were noted by 26.7% of responses, particularly with smartphones.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first survey results on patient experiences with online radiology image access.
• Patients reported significant satisfaction, increased trust, autonomy, reassurance, and medical understanding.
• The findings suggest patient access to radiology images is desired and operationally feasible.
• Healthcare institutions are encouraged to offer online access to radiology images to promote information transparency.