Re: Patient portals and radiology reports: Toward patient-centred communication

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 68, No. 9, November 2026 | Page 306 | Letters
By: Anthony Walter, MB BCh

The recent article about the need for clear language in radiology reports that are to be understandable by the average patient [BCMJ 2026:68:211-213] put me in mind of a report I received in the 1970s: “The patient presented for a barium enema. The barium was administered. However, the procedure could not be completed as the individual absquatulated.”

With a mental image of an examining room covered in a frightful mess, I reached for my dictionary, discovering that this early-19th-century American term indicated that the patient had simply pushed off and left the facility, full of contrast material.
—Anthony Walter, MB BCh
Coldstream

This letter was submitted in response to “Patient portals and radiology reports: Toward patient-centred communication.”

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Anthony Walter, MB BCh. Re: Patient portals and radiology reports: Toward patient-centred communication. BCMJ, Vol. 68, No. 9, November, 2026, Page(s) 306 - Letters.


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