On Unwarranted Performance of MRI Scans

Having read the paper by Oikarinen et al. in the penultimate issue of Insights into Imaging, the author discusses the absurdities of everyday work of the radiologist in the MRI unit, concluding that delayed terms of appointments, despite numerous facilities being available in Poland, are largely due to the unwarranted referrals of patients to MRI examinations, which makes the patients who truly require them wait very long or decide to pay for the examination out of their own pockets; radiologists should get involved in the fight against unwarranted studies, even through the use of such expressions as “anatomical variant”, “does not require further inspection”, “no clinical significance”, “MRI is not the first study in the diagnostic algorithm” in warranted cases and by contacting the referring physician (in agreement with the head of the unit/department) to politely explain the absurdity of referral and refuse the test in the most absurd cases.