Radiology now. The Radiologist's dilemma

The growth in the demand for diagnostic radiology continues throughout the world. In Britain estimates vary, but a growth rate of between 5 and 10% per annum has been reported from many centres, and there is no evidence that a plateau has been reached. It is thetoretically possible to meet the demand by increasing resources, and an attempt has been made to do this. According to Raison (1976) the number of diagnostic radiologists increased by 15% between 1967 and 1972, but the workload in the same period rose by 30%, so that the demand exceeded capacity to meet it. At a time when many new and exciting developments are taking place in diagnostic radiology there is anxiety that the increasing workload could result in decreasing quality of radiological work.