Most stock photos fail to accurately portray the work of radiologists

Most stock photos fail to accurately portray the work of radiologists, according to new research out of Europe. 

As the specialty seeks to add value and interface more directly with patients, it’s essential the public understands the radiologist’s role on the care team. However, members of the media frequently use outdated images from stock photo databases, painting an inaccurate picture of rads’ work. 

To prove this point, Belgian radiology resident Laura Hartog and colleagues queried three commonly used image services, sharing their findings Feb. 26 at the European Society of Radiology’s annual meeting. Searching for the term “radiologist” turned up 200 consecutive images, with just 6% deemed “high quality.” 

“The vast majority of stock photos fail to accurately portray the contemporary role of radiologists, contributing to gross misinterpretation of our profession by the general public,” Hartog and co-authors concluded.

Researchers evaluated each image for overall quality, description, displayed body regions, context, modality, etc. X-ray was the most common, in about 52% of images, followed by MRI (21%) and CT (19%), while diagnostic imaging was the primary focus of most (99%). Only about 4% of stock photos depicted medical images on PACS workstations versus 66% showing a radiologist holding films “up in the air.” Another 10% showed physicians viewing radiographs on an old-school X-ray view box. In about 48% of photos, the lead figure was shown wearing a stethoscope, and only about 9% of all images presented a “realistic view of a radiologist’s job.” 

“To our knowledge, this kind of evaluation of an essential source of information for the public has never been undertaken before,” the authors noted, adding in the “limitations” section that their work was conducted by a resident but reviewed by a consultant radiologist.