Determining the MRI Examination Experience: The Relationship Between Waiting Times, Information Provision, and Patient Anxiety

Background: Performance evaluation in MRI diagnostics traditionally focuses on op-erational metrics (e.g., waiting times), neglecting patient experience, which funda-mentally determines patients' future healthcare compliance. The aim of our study was to identify the key factors determining patient satisfaction, with particular regard to human interactions and the psychological impacts of the examination environment. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted at eight public diag-nostic centers in Hungary (N = 742). Predictors of overall satisfaction were analyzed using multivariate linear regression (IBM SPSS 27.0), examining the effects of structural (waiting list), environmental (noise, isolation, hygiene), and interpersonal (professional competence, information provision) variables (p < 0.05; 95%CI). Results: The model explained 48.8% of the variance in patient satisfaction. The most significant positive predictor was the competence of the healthcare staff (β = 0.349; p < 0.001), followed by confidence in the effectiveness of the examination (β = 0.208) and hygiene (β = 0.128). The distressing effect of loneliness (isolation) was identified as a key negative factor (β = -0.131; p < 0.001). In contrast, waiting time and acoustic load (noise) were not signifi-cant confounding factors in the final model. Conclusions: Our findings highlight that, according to patients' subjective experiences, the quality of radiological care is deter-mined by human factors and clinical trust rather than operational speed. To improve patient satisfaction, emphasis should be placed not only on technical advancements but also on enhancing staff communication competencies and mitigating the experience of isolation during examinations.