Consultants and their secretaries have referred to the same MRI unit for over 13 years on average, a new study has revealed. Referrers were found to remain loyal to external medical units, with almost 8% saying that they had used the same MRI provider for over 25 years.
Clinicians, who identified location, staff expertise and scanner quality as key reasons for initially referring patients, said they were difficult to influence thereafter. External medical units’ corporate literature and postal updates were identified as ineffective ways to persuade referrers to try another service, and nine out of ten said that they had never visited an MRI centre’s website. The findings come from research conducted by the Queen Square Imaging Centre in London. Orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and medical secretaries were asked how and why they refer patients to external medical units. Patients had a say in where they were referred in just 50% of MRI referral decisions, when they chose a unit that suited their location, technical specifications or personal needs. Medical secretaries held sway over 38% of referrals, with less than 7% taking a lead role in the procedure.
