A radiologist on the staff of a large community hospital was stopped after a staff meeting by a colleague in internal medicine. On Monday of the previous week, the internist referred an elderly man with chronic, productive cough for chest Xray, with a clinical diagnosis of bronchitis. On Thursday morning, the internist received the radiologist’s written X-ray report with a diagnosis of “probable bronchogenic carcinoma.” The internist expressed his dismay that the radiologist had not called him much earlier with a verbal report. Visibly upset, the internist raised his voice, but did not use abusive language.

How should the radiologist handle this conflict with the internist?