The Incalculable Value of Knowledge

...or the ongoing quest for access to the right healthcare information at the right time

The College is the peak body representing radiologists, specialist doctors at the forefront of the technological revolution in health care. It may not be so well known the College is also at the forefront of providing credible, professional information on its comprehensive and easy-to-access InsideRadiology website for health consumers and health professionals.

Radiologists are the only ones who have the background and understanding to ensure health consumers can access the right clinical radiology information at the right time. Health consumers need radiologists to engage directly with them through InsideRadiology and take their place in a multidisciplinary health environment. This way the College can remain in the vanguard of not only technological innovation but also information innovation.

It may be even less well known that the College was at the forefront of engaging a health consumer in its quality and standards programs.

In 2005, I was the first health consumer on the College’s Quality Use of Diagnostic Imaging (QUDI) program, and the College was quick to make way for the new, ‘health consumer’ movement that was starting to gain traction.

So, what is a health consumer?

To try to understand what a health consumer is, we need to back up a few years before 2005. A definite change emerged as the general public became more informed and more vocal about health issues and had greater expectations of the health system.

Experts would be able to better unpack the reasons for this trend but from a lay perspective, contributing factors might be the rising influence of the internet where people could access copious amounts of health information; the exponential curve in new and innovative health technologies that manufacturers proudly advertised, health professionals welcomed, and patients wanted to access; the impact of a greater number of private facilities offering an alternative to public health care, and perhaps the influence of the baby boomer generation who were of an age where they were accessing the health system in increasing numbers.

Whatever the individual factors that led to the change, they resulted in patients, ex-patients and other interested parties forming health consumer groups and organisations to advocate for better treatment and care, greater transparency and accountability, and for consumer groups to be included in healthcare policy and decision-making.

In the early days of health consumer representation, health professionals did not always embrace non-professionals being on boards and committees, and often genuinely could not see any benefit would derive from it. It was also believed a health consumer was someone with a grudge to settle. In a few cases, this was correct and consumer representatives with their own agendas didn’t always make for a smooth transition into this brave new world.

My own journey and experiences with breast cancer gave me valuable insights into the system. I morphed from a consumer of health services into a health consumer representative serving on professional medical groups and committees to contribute my perspective into the mix of different perspectives working together to improve health care.

While there is still a way to go for health consumer representation, over the years the health sector and government have, I believe, come to see the benefit of the consumer perspective applied at all levels of the health sector, or at least have learned to live with it. Articles in professional medical journals always depict health consumers and health professional as two distinctly diverse groups of people, so it follows they will have two distinctly different perspectives to contribute to the big picture.

In health there is not a straightforward way to define a consumer as it is for consumers of other services and products. In both an individual and collective sense, it is fluid because everyone at some stage in their life will be a consumer of health services. As a health consumer representative my role is clear and that is to draw on my own experiences and the experiences of others to add my viewpoint. Sometimes the ultimate decision-makers accept my perspective and sometimes they don’t. The important thing for me is to ensure I give my view from a consumer perspective honestly and with conviction.

The knowledge gaps

One of the areas I have focused on is improving consumer information.

While I was able to navigate the information maze on my journey there were gaps, and it was clear to me a lot of people would have difficulty finding the right information at the right time. Knowledge helped me get through the various tests and procedures, take an active part in managing treatment side effects and inspiring me to have a positive attitude. It gave me some control at a time when I felt like I was on a fast-moving conveyor belt.

Joining the College QUDI program was a match made in heaven for me because of the commitment of the College to embracing projects such as promoting the valuable role of radiologists in multidisciplinary team care, and its Australia-wide survey of what consumers wanted to know about radiology tests and procedures and how they wanted it presented. This latter project led to and informed several other projects, including InsideRadiology.

The knowledge revolution

The number of people accessing InsideRadiology is increasing within Australia and New Zealand and from overseas. Importantly, InsideRadiology is reaching not only major centres but regional and remote locations where patients and their families find information difficult to access and treatment outcomes are known to be less effective.

InsideRadiology has a robust process to ensure accuracy and readability for consumers and health professionals. The InsideRadiology Secretariat tracks new items and items being reviewed and updated. Radiologists write the items in collaboration with members of the editorial team comprising a sub-editor, clinical adviser, general practitioner and consumer.

Yes, a radiologist often has limited direct contact with patients but as radiology tests, procedures and treatments becomes more sophisticated and specialised, this is changing. Information about radiology tests and procedures is a vital part of a patient journey and has a direct impact on a patient’s ability to access trusted information and reduce anxiety.

InsideRadiology can only remain at the forefront of the knowledge revolution if College Fellows are willing to support it by writing new content and reviewing existing content to ensure the website is comprehensive and up-to-date. If there are barriers to this, please let the InsideRadiology team know how the process could be adapted to suit you.

A recent comment left on the website says it all (name given):

Just a quick note from a reasonably informed, but not medically trained, patient to congratulate you on your excellent informative website. I just chanced on it while looking for a reputable source to explain what the acronym 'CTCA' stood for. I found your site easy & quick to use, as it is reasonably well structured and gets straight to the point without users having to wade through unnecessary graphics. In particular, I found the content really informative; uses intelligent but plain English language (without appalling modern management speak); and being the site of a peak organisation, it is blessedly absent from the self-promotion/advertising that seems inevitable on the sites of providers who are competing with each other. Please convey my congratulations and thanks to all responsible and also to the RANZCR for your contribution to quality science communication. I will certainly recommend your site to friends who are having different types of scans.

Ann Revell

Consumer Advisor and Consumer Editor to InsideRadiology

www.insideradiology.com.au

InsideRadiology is an Australasian resource on clinical radiology tests, procedures, and interventions, providing up-to-date information to health consumers and health professionals and improving doctor-patient communication.