Patient Communication That Works for Imaging Clinics

Patients can't evaluate your image quality or your radiologists' reporting. What they can judge - and what they base reviews, recommendations and return visits on - is how well you communicated with them: whether they knew what the scan would cost, how to prepare, where to park, and when their doctor would have the results.

Most imaging complaints trace back to a communication gap rather than a clinical failure: the patient who wasn't told to fast, the one surprised by a gap payment, the one who circled the block looking for parking, the one who rang three times asking whether their results were in.

Each of those gaps is closable with a standard message sent at the right moment. This guide works through the sequence: confirmation, preparation, reminder, arrival, and results expectations. None of it requires new technology - just deciding what every patient should be told, and making sure it happens every time rather than when reception remembers.

The booking confirmation is your highest-value message because every patient gets one and it arrives while attention is high. Send it immediately after booking, by SMS with an email carrying the detail, and make it do all five jobs:

• When and where - date, time, full address, and how early to arrive • What it will cost - the expected fee, rebate and gap, or your bulk-billing position, so there's no surprise at reception • How to prepare - the scan-specific instructions, in the same message rather than "we'll send prep separately" • What to bring - the referral, Medicare and concession cards, previous imaging if relevant, a list of implants for MRI • How to change it - a phone number or link to reschedule, which turns future conflicts into notice instead of no-shows

A confirmation that does all five jobs eliminates most of the phone calls your reception currently fields between booking and appointment day.

Preparation instructions fail when they're written in clinical shorthand. "Nil by mouth 6 hours prior" is obvious to your team and genuinely ambiguous to patients - does that include water? Medications? Coffee?

Write one plain-language prep sheet per common scan and reuse it everywhere: • CT with contrast - fasting explained in clock terms ("if your scan is at 2pm, don't eat after 8am"), what to do about regular medications, and what the contrast injection feels like • Abdominal ultrasound - fasting; pelvic ultrasound - the full-bladder requirement, with practical drinking instructions and timing • MRI - the metal and implant questions, what clothing to wear, and what to do if they're claustrophobic (tell us beforehand, not on the day) • X-ray - often no prep, and saying "no preparation needed" explicitly is itself reassuring

Test the sheets on someone outside healthcare. If they hesitate anywhere, rewrite that line. And translate the highest-volume sheets into your catchment's main community languages - a misread fasting instruction costs the slot regardless of the language it was misread in.

The day-before SMS is the cheapest no-show prevention available, but its content matters as much as its timing.

A good reminder repeats the essentials rather than just naming the appointment: • Time and address - don't assume the confirmation is still to hand • The one or two preparation points that can still be acted on - "remember: nothing to eat after 8am tomorrow" or "arrive with a full bladder: finish 750ml of water an hour before" • A one-tap or reply-to-reschedule option, so a patient with a conflict gives you notice instead of an empty slot

For scans with multi-day preparation, add an earlier message when the prep actually begins - a fasting reminder sent the evening before is too late for a morning appointment if the patient needed to stop eating the previous night.

Keep the tone warm and brief. The reminder is also a small brand moment: a clear, friendly message reads very differently from a terse automated one, at identical cost.

The final stretch of the patient journey - finding your door - is where good experiences turn stressful. A patient who spent fifteen minutes circling for parking arrives late, flustered, and primed to notice everything else that goes wrong.

Include in your confirmation or reminder: • Parking reality, not just existence - free or paid, where exactly, and honest alternatives if your parking is limited ("the medical centre car park fills by 9am; street parking on Smith St is usually easier") • Public transport options - the nearest stop and walking time • Which entrance and level, especially in shared medical buildings, and the accessible entrance if it differs • What happens on arrival - check in at reception, expect paperwork, allow a few minutes • What to bring, repeated - referral, cards, prior imaging

This is the same information your Radly profile carries in its transport, parking and accessibility fields - keep the two consistent, and reuse the profile text in your messages rather than writing it twice.

"When will I get my results?" is the question every patient carries out the door, and the gap between their assumption and your process generates anxiety, phone calls and complaints.

Close the gap with a consistent script at the end of every appointment: • Who gets the results - explain that the report goes to their referring doctor, and that the doctor discusses it with them • When - a realistic timeframe by scan type, slightly conservative so you under-promise and over-deliver • What they should do - book the follow-up with their GP, and don't assume no news is good news • What you'll do if anything needs urgent attention - reassure them there's a process without alarming them

Back the script with a printed or texted line they can take away, because anxious patients don't retain verbal detail. And make sure reception has a standard answer for results calls - "your report was sent to Dr Nguyen on Tuesday" resolves in seconds what an unprepared response turns into a transfer chain.