Scanxiety: Redesigning the Diagnostic Experience in the NHS

We brought together patients, care providers, support group leaders and service managers to better understand a phenomenon that many of us have sensed for some time but rarely examined directly: scanxiety.

Scanxiety is the anxiety associated with diagnostic imaging; the waiting before the scan, feelings during the scan, and most acutely, the period while waiting for results. It is not confined to patients. It extends to families, to friends, and, as we heard clearly during our discussion, to care providers working in a system that is stretched beyond the limits it was designed for.