A study found that the radiation from CT scans—the tests regularly used to 1 internal injuries or signs of cancer—is likely 2 for 2 percent of cancer cases in the United States.
3 lots of Americans undergo CT scans, that research is unlikely to 4 in doctors" offices: Two-thirds of patients in a new JAMA study reported 5 nothing of the risks of the diagnostic procedure. 6 , 17 percent felt like they played an active role in a discussion 7 , whether this diagnostic test was the best path forward.
"Our study indicates that most decisions to undergo outpatient CT are 8 by physicians and risk communication is 9 ," a team of researchers led by University of Colorado"s Tanner Caverly writes. "The risk communication that took place had limited 10 : respondents who recalled discussing the benefits and risks of imaging did not have better 11 ."
Would a conversation about the 12 risks have made a difference Caverly"s team asked a few other questions 13 suggest it would: Patients undergoing the scan have little idea about the radiation 14 . One-quarter self-identified radiation as a risk of a CT scan; 37 percent were able to identify CT scans as having a higher level of radiation 15 a chest x-ray.
There"s a growing movement in medicine right now to 16 on unnecessary treatment or 17 of care. Much of this has been led by a group called Choosing Wisely, which has 18 with dozens of medical societies to come up with lists of 19 that doctors themselves don"t think they ought to be using.
One of their key messages is that more care isn"t necessarily better; all medicine comes with some level of risk. That message does not, 20 , seem to be delivered in the doctor"s offices studied here.