Radiologists were not there at the beginning of radiology. Neither were radiation oncologists or nuclear medicine physicians. The use of X-rays for diagnosis and therapy was pioneered by interested individuals who could see the potential value of the newly discovered type of ionizing radiation, often physicians, surgeons and physicists. It took some decades for radiology and radiotherapy (and later, nuclear medicine) to establish themselves as independent specialties, separate from other disciplines, and responsible for the growing contributions of ionizing radiation (and other allied modalities) to healthcare. Initially, radiology was a single field, with any competent radiologist expected to be familiar with all its applications. As knowledge and capabilities grew, subspecialties began to emerge within radiology; the entire field became too broad for any one individual to master, and the benefits of high-level knowledge and service delivery by doctors working exclusively in their subspecialty became clear.

There are five main factors that determine customer satisfaction with radiology services:

Ability to provide the service as promised to the customer and to do so accurately. In radiology, this means correct examination must be performed so that the correct views can be obtained. The report must be accurate and of high quality, regardless of who is reporting e.g., resident or consultant, and the report must answer the clinical problem of the patient.

willingness and ability to help customers promptly. In radiology, this means being able to get appointments for patients quickly as well as sending the films and report soon after the examination to the referring doctor. Long waiting times for appointments and taking more than a couple of hours to generate an urgent report is generally not acceptable in most hospitals.

the customer must feel comfortable with the competence of the service provider. Customers must get the feeling that they are receiving the best service and must have confidence in the service. In radiology, this means that the staff must not only be technically competent but must also have interpersonal skills, as they must be able to interact with both patients and referring physicians. Many radiologists do not bother to interact or talk to patients but the need for this interaction is growing, especially with interventional procedures.

the radiologist needs to show some degree of caring and attention to customers. This again highlights the importance of interpersonal skills, which starts from front desk reception staff to the radiologist.

the physical appearance of the department and facilities, and the quality of the equipment. In radiology, because of high capital cost of equipment, it is not always possible to have the best equipment but it is always important that the available equipment is used correctly and the quality of work produced is of high quality. It is not advisable to take too many shortcuts to save money e.g., performing a couple of pulse sequences of a MRI scan and filming only a few images of the sequences on hard copy.