As a specialist who has been practicing musculoskeletal radiology for more than 25 years, I find the recent policy proposal of The National Quality Forum to be somewhat concerning.

It is okay to research and gather information when various symptoms present themselves, but avoid self-diagnosis. Leave diagnosis up to your primary care physician or medical specialist.

Nonradiology specialty training in imaging is extremely varied. Medical schools and nonradiology residency programs provide limited training regarding how to acquire and interpret images accurately.

This is not about quality patient care, convenience or offering the best services available. It is about greed and defensive medicine over medical ethics and reasonableness.

Why, in a time when all we hear is news about the trouble with obesity, are people NOT eating healthy?

Specifically with ultrasound equipment, because it is less expensive, vendors emphasize to potential buyers that, "You're not going to do any damage to the patient; you're not going to be using... radiation."

One of the key reasons health care is exploding is linked to medical imaging. A predominant factor in this explosion is related to non-radiology owned private practices and imaging centers.

Patients should always ask who is performing, reading and interpreting their imaging studies? Collaboration between radiologists and clinicians have the greatest potential for diagnosis and treatment.

A myelogram can help your doctor make a diagnosis or plan the appropriate treatment to help relieve back or leg symptoms.