title: Fears, feelings, and facts: interactively communicating benefits and risks of medical radiation with patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As public awareness of medical radiation exposure increases, there has been heightened awareness among patients and physicians of the importance of holistic benefit-and-risk discussions in shared medical decision making.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We examine the rationale for informed consent and risk communication, draw on the literature on the psychology of radiation risk communication to increase understanding, examine methods commonly used to communicate radiation risk, and suggest strategies for improving communication about medical radiation benefits and risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, Box 84, New York, NY 10065, USA. dauerl@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Lawrence T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Dauer
authors.forename: Raymond H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: Rochelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balter
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: St Germain
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011639:Public Opinion; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D011835:Radiation Protection; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors