b. Medical Ethics and Law. Ethical and legal considerations that affect
practice are covered.
c. Medical Terminology. This course deals with word origins, word-building
systems, specific anatomic terminology, abbreviations, and symbols. Included are
terms referring to diseases and abnormalities that will enable the x-ray technologist to
communicate effectively in the performance of radiographic procedures.
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
Without knowledge of medical terminology, you wouldn't be able to understand a
physician's order that says: "syncope." If you didn't know that syncope means
fainting, you might end up x-raying the patient without restraints. And, if the patient
were to fall and incur an injury, you could be liable.
PRIMARY PHYSICIANS WITH IMAGING EQUIPMENT ARE FOUR TIMES AS
LIKELY TO ORDER DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING
The health insurance claims of over 400,000 employees and dependents of several
large American corporations were analyzed for frequency of diagnostic imaging. The
frequency of imaging and Imaging charges were compared for two groups of
physicians: (1) primary physicians with their own diagnostic imaging equipment (self-
referring physicians) and (2) primary physicians who referred patients to radiologists
(radiologist-referring physicians). Four clinical presentations were selected for their
variety and volume of associated imaging procedures: 1) acute upper respiratory
symptoms (how many chest radiographs were performed?); 2) pregnancy (how many
ultrasounds were performed?); 3) low back pain (how many radiographs of the
lumbar spine were performed?); and 4) difficulty urinating in men (how many
excretory urograms, cystograms, or ultrasounds were performed?). The study
revealed that for the clinical presentations considered in this study, patients were four
times as likely to have diagnostic imaging performed when the primary physician had
his or her own imaging equipment in the office than when the primary physician
referred the patient to a radiologist. It is impossible to say whether the more liberal
or more conservative use of diagnostic imaging represents the more appropriate
care. Anyone of several factors could account for the markedly heavier use of
diagnostic imaging among self-referring primary physicians: financial incentives;
convenience of in-house equipment, or a tendency for physicians who favor imaging
to acquire their own equipment The study findings conclude (hat "the differences
between the self-referring and radiologist-referring physicians in the use of Imaging
are so large that some concern over the role of financial incentives must be
invoked."4 The report concludes that' the potential to self-refer must surely
complicate physicians' decisions and perhaps jeopardizes their obligation to place
their patients interests above their own."5
MD0067
4-4