Responsibilities of the Referring Physician

The physician recommending or referring you for any radiologic procedure should be at least somewhat familiar with the benefits and risks associated with that exam. He or she should be able to give you reasoning behind the recommendation. Also, any optional procedures should be explained with associated known risks and benefits associated with each one they are aware of. The physician is many times your biggest educator on why a particular procedure should be done. If this physician is your regular family doctor, you probably have developed a trusted relationship with him or her. Whether or not this is the case, the physician who refers you to the radiology department will generally be the one to do the follow up and give you the results of what was found.