• Alison McKinlay, Raphael Underwood, Gabriella Wojewodka, Asif Mazumder, Rachael Kilner, and Leone Ridsdale.
• Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
• BMJ Open. 2019 Aug 18; 9 (8): e029376.

ObjectiveWe aimed to describe patients' views of a new referral pathway of general practitioner (GP) direct access to MRI, versus imaging after referral to a specialist.DesignThis qualitative study involved 20 semistructured interviews. Twenty patients (10 from each pathway) were purposively recruited and interviewed to describe their attitudes.SettingA neurology headache clinic and neuroradiology services from the boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth in South London, UK.ParticipantsTwenty patients were involved in this study.ResultsOver half of the participants felt relieved once they received their scan results, while some remained uncertain about the underlying cause of their symptoms. Some participants described a long wait to see a specialist. Others described a long wait time to receive scan results, especially from their GP. Spontaneous reduction in headache symptoms occurred for some participants and for others, normal imaging results allowed them to focus more on symptom management.ConclusionRelief was reported especially when scan results had been explained clearly and without too much delay. Those with continuing pain focused on how to get relief from symptoms. Patient experience might be improved with clearer information from GPs about how patients can access results, standard reporting procedures and closer liaison between neuroradiology and GPs.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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