Patient- and Family-Centered Care: Why Radiology?

Before technologic advances in imaging, such as PET/ MRI and molecular imaging–guided oncologic treatment, changed the practice of radiology, before antibiotics and vaccines provided widespread pharmacologic means to treat and prevent disease, before antiseptic technique markedly reduced surgical death rates, our ability to minister to patients and their families was to listen, comfort, and support. We’ve come full circle, once again listening, comforting, and supporting the needs of patients and their families by integrating their individualized preferences, experiences, and expertise into contemporary medical practices. In this special issue of JACR, we focus on patientand family-centered care (PFCC) in radiology and radiation oncology. We have expanded the roles patients can play. Patients, caregivers, and advocates served as coauthors or reviewers, in other words, coproducers of meaningful content. The issue represents a journey for us as practitioners and as a profession. Although many would argue that radiologists have limited patient interaction, few would argue that radiology does not affect the patient experience. PFCC traces its roots back to the post–World War II changes in health; Rawson and Moretz [1] review its evolution. On an operational level, there are many opportunities for individual radiologists, practices, hospitals, or radiology professional societies to improve the patient experience. Jensen et al [2] describe the intersection of quality improvement and patient experience, and Rawson et al [3,4] describe their 20-year experience of implementing PFCC in radiology care practices at an academic