Digital X-rays, to print or not to print?

It used to be if we had to make a copy of a patient's x-rays to give to the patient or send for a consult we either had duplicate x-rays made . Depending on the method used, there could be some degradation in the quality of the image. When digital radiography came on the scene, it was common to print copies of the digital images and give those to the patient or send to another doctor if needed. Again, often there was a degradation of the image quality in these printed copies.

Presently, if possible we make digital copies of the images, usually in a JPEG format, and email them to the patient or any doctors that need to see them. These images are identical to the original images! The only little problem is that the doctor receiving the images often has to download the JPEGs to a desktop of a computer and then import them into what ever software he or she uses to store the images. I find this can take 5-10 minutes. A printed copy, once received can be place immediately into a patient's chart.