Using the BERT concept to promote public understanding of radiation

Radiation phobia can be greatly decreased if the simple BERT (Background Equivalent Radiation Time) concept is used to explain the dose to all diagnostic radiology patients. It converts the radiation dose to an equivalent period of natural background radiation. It is understandable, it does not mention risk, and it educates the patient that human-made radiation is the same as the background radiation which gives them most of their annual dose. Medical physicists should provide each clinical x-ray unit with a table that gives the BERT value for various procedures and patient sizes and educate the radiologists and radiographers how to use the BERT approach for relieving radiation anxiety. (author)