Patient Communication and Safety

• Mammographer


  • Aware of the significance of technical skills and ensuring a safe and accurate examination
  • Understand the importance of patient interactions
  • Obtain quality images
  • Provide a positive experience for the patient
• Communication and patient safety play important roles in being an effective mammographer and providing patient care
• Patients often view mammogram examinations as unpleasant or embarrassing
• The manner in which the technologist explains, listens, and empathizes with the patient contributes to overall patient satisfaction and ultimately can affect patient outcome
• The mammographer often is faced with a variety of patient factors or concerns that can influence the examination's outcome, including patient-provider communication, safety issues, and positioning challenges
• ARRT Standards of Ethics


  The professional foundation for patient care in mammography
• ASRT Practice Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (PSMIRT)


  Define the professional role of radiologic technologists and address several patient care topics, including communication, safety, and patients' rights
• Mammographers should be familiar with and adhere to the ethical and the practice standards as part of their professional duty
• ARRT Code of Ethics

  Aspirational guide for professional conduct
• ARRT Rules of Ethics

  Mandatory & enforceable standards