ABSTRACT
Modern medical care aims to deliver effective healthcare in a timely fashion while maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction. Good performance in the delivery of this service is dependent upon accurate diagnosis, use of diagnostic tools, and the patient's perceived experience through the healthcare system – the 'patient's journey'. Medical imaging coupled with complimentary software systems plays a major role in accurate diagnosis of medical and surgical conditions, guides interventional and surgical treatment, and enables the clinician to empower the patient in the decision-making process. By managing patient expectations we can improve patient compliance and satisfaction, and overall provide better patient care. The chapter outlines the role of the radiographer and radiologist as 'producers', and the role of the clinician and patient as 'consumers' from an orthopaedic surgeon's perspective. It provides an overview of how the information seeking behaviour of clinicians has changed with time. The chapter also provides insight into how best radiographers can support 'consumers' in the future.
