Ever Play 20 Questions with a Referring Physician?

Article

At least one radiologist is tired of ED physicians asking 20 questions after every scan. Do you share his pain?

I have this conversation at least once a year:

“Hi, it’s Dr. Smith from the ED. Just wanted to follow up on that abdominal CT we ordered on Jane Doe.”

“Oh, yes…I signed that report awhile ago. Normal scan.”

“It’s normal? Because she had right lower quadrant pain.”

“Yeah, I saw that in the clinical history…nothing to account for the pain.”

“No appendicitis?”

“No, appendix looks totally normal.”

“No abscess? No obstruction?”

“Nope, nothing-normal study.”

“No colitis, nothing like that?”

“No. Normal study.”

“Hmm. No ovarian cyst or other badness in the adnexa?”

“No. Nothing. Normal scan.”

“Nothing, huh? No stone in the kidney or ureter?”

If you’ve ever had the dubious pleasure of participating in one of these little exercises, you’ve surely found yourself considering some of the sarcastic replies that I have fought to suppress (thus far, successfully).

For instance:

“Oho! You got me…I was trying to keep the stone a secret. Can’t fool you, can I?”

“Well, yes, there’s appendicitis since you asked, but aside from that the study’s normal.”

“No, when I said ‘normal,’ I meant it. But don’t let that stop you-there are at least six more diagnoses in the differential for this patient’s clinical history! Can you name them all?”

“I’m sorry, you’ve already used up your twenty questions for this patient; I have to move on to the other ten STAT full-body scans you ordered.”
 

Recent Videos
SNMMI: 18F-Piflufolastat PSMA PET/CT Offers High PPV for Local PCa Recurrence Regardless of PSA Level
SNMMI: NIH Researcher Discusses Potential of 18F-Fluciclovine for Multiple Myeloma Detection
SNMMI: What Tau PET Findings May Reveal About Modifiable Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease
Emerging Insights on the Use of FES PET for Women with Lobular Breast Cancer
Can Generative AI Reinvent Radiology Reporting?: An Interview with Samir Abboud, MD
Mammography Study Reveals Over Sixfold Higher Risk of Advanced Cancer Presentation with Symptom-Detected Cancers
Combining Advances in Computed Tomography Angiography with AI to Enhance Preventive Care
Study: MRI-Based AI Enhances Detection of Seminal Vesicle Invasion in Prostate Cancer
What New Research Reveals About the Impact of AI and DBT Screening: An Interview with Manisha Bahl, MD
Can AI Assessment of Longitudinal MRI Scans Improve Prediction for Pediatric Glioma Recurrence?
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.