Explain scan reports to patients in plain words
Patients read their scan report in the portal and get scared by wording they don't understand.
Survey summarized by RSNA De-identified text only Individual access available
Source check: 2026-11-11 · Physician review: not yet recorded
The workflow
- For a first test, use fictional or appropriately de-identified content. For identifiable clinical records, use a workspace covered by your organization’s patient-data agreement; removing names alone is insufficient.
- Copy the report text and remove the name, dates, record number and any other identifiers.
- Ask the AI to explain the findings in plain words a patient can follow, with no advice about treatment.
- Read the draft line by line against the original report.
- Fix anything played down or blown up, such as a named artery called just 'a smaller artery' or a minor finding made to sound like it needs follow-up.
- Send the checked explanation through the portal as a note to read alongside the full report, not in place of it.
Tools and cost
USD unless stated otherwise. Billing periods and eligibility matter. A tool listed here was not necessarily tested in the cited study.
Individual self-service
Consumer Free is separate from the BAA-eligible clinician workspace.
What the evidence supports
RSNA summarizes a study of 1,815 online volunteers reading three lung-cancer screening reports. Simplified versions improved comprehension and reduced anxiety in that exercise.
Research-society summary; primary paper not independently checked · Read the source ↗
Where it goes wrong
These were volunteers reading sample reports, not patients receiving their own results. The summaries were radiologist-reviewed; the result does not establish safety for unreviewed reports or all imaging findings.