RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Nuclear Medicine and Resources for Patients: How Complex Are Online Patient Educational Materials? JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology JO J. Nucl. Med. Technol. FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 144 OP 146 DO 10.2967/jnmt.117.203380 VO 46 IS 2 A1 David R. Hansberry A1 Kush Shah A1 Nitin Agarwal A1 Sung M. Kim A1 Charles M. Intenzo YR 2018 UL http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/46/2/144.abstract AB The Internet is a major source of health care information for patients. The American Medical Association and the National Institutes of Health recommend that consumer health care websites be written at a third- to seventh-grade level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of readability of patient education websites pertaining to nuclear medicine. Methods: We searched for 10 terms on Google, collected the top 10 links for each term, and analyzed their level of readability using 10 well-established readability scales. Results: Collectively, the 99 articles were written at a grade level of 11.8 (SD, 3.4). Only 5 of the 99 articles were written at the third- to seventh-grade level recommended by the National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association. Conclusion: There is a clear discordance between the readability level of nuclear medicine–related imaging terms and the National Institutes of Health and American Medical Association guidelines. This discordance may have a negative impact on patient understanding, contributing to poor health outcomes.