If Disney ran your pediatric radiology department: a different approach to improving the patient and family experience

The concepts behind the patient experience and patient- and family-centered care have their roots in the 1980s. Prioritization and implementation of programs to improve the patient experience have received increased attention since the passage of legislation tying health insurance reimbursement to patient satisfaction surveys. Radiology has joined these efforts with the Radiology 3.0 initiative, and departments are applying established patient- and family-centered care models and quality-improvement methods to improve patient experience and satisfaction. While these approaches are valuable, they should be supplemented with more qualitative, humanistic and empathetic approaches. We present a “Disney model” for improving the patient and family experience in pediatric radiology and examples of practical implementation.