The American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT-MR) have issued a statement disagreeing with a suggestion that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should take over responsibility for protecting patients from excessive radiation dose from CT exams.
The suggestion, included in an online article published June 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, would likely be a logistical impossibility given the number of scanner types and generations, as well as the variety of medical imaging indications, according to the societies. They believe such narrowly defined regulations may not allow for the flexibility that physicians need to provide the best possible care to their patients.
Instead, the societies said that a more immediate -- and, ultimately, more effective -- way to address the issues of radiation dose and appropriate utilization of imaging exams is to require that all imaging providers adhere to existing (and previously voluntary) programs that the ACR and other imaging stakeholders already have in place.
Such programs include the following:
- Computerized exam ordering systems based on the ACR Appropriateness Criteria
- ACR facility accreditation
- The ACR CT dose index registry, which will allow providers to submit radiation dose data so that facilities may compare their CT dose indices against realistic national benchmarks and re-examine their imaging protocols if necessary; facilities will also be alerted if a dose threshold has been exceeded
"Lawmakers and government agencies need to work with the provider community to help ensure that that the next steps to address the very important issues of medical radiation reduction and necessary utilization are the correct steps," the societies said in a statement. "Federally mandating participation in these existing programs can help ensure that medical imaging is safe, effective, and available without removing treatment decisions from doctor's hands, and without further stressing the American healthcare system."
Related Reading
U.S. experts weigh how to reduce radiation from scans, June 24, 2010
Calif. Senate passes radiation bill, June 2, 2010
Calif. radiation bill up for Senate discussion, May 24, 2010
Settlement reached in Mad River pediatric CT radiation case, May 24, 2010
JACC special issue tackles radiation dose in cardiac imaging, May 14, 2010
Copyright © 2010 AuntMinnie.com
