When patients experience blunt neck injuries—after a car accident, for example—follow-up MRI is not necessary after a CT scan comes back negative for spine instability, according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery.

Numerous surveys have shown that patients don’t know a lot about radiology or what radiologists and technologists do. Could articles such as this patient-focused look at MRI examinations from the women’s health magazine SELF be a step toward helping patients learn more about radiology as a whole?

Jeffrey B. Mendel, MD, former Chair of Radiology and Chief of Radiology Informatics at, respectively, Tufts-affiliated St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston and Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, shares an anecdote.

Radiologists operate in a fast-paced work environment, juggling a combination of tasks that includes interpreting studies, and calls from referring physicians.

In the MRI suite at St. Joseph’s Candler Hospital in Savannah, Ga., the numbers add up to a quantifiable success story.

While MRI is often considered one of the safer imaging modalities due to its lack of ionizing radiation, other dangers remain for patients, with thermal burns being a chief concern. 

Among the many requirements a hospital must meet to achieve and maintain the designation of Critical Access Hospital (CAH), the hospital must be fairly remote and furnish 24-hour emergency care services seven days a week, using either on-site or on-call staff.