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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 In a cooperative effort, the FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are going to get hospitals and imaging centers to start using quality-assurance practices to improve the oversight and safe use of these imaging devices. This new program will be part of the accreditation process for these facilities, according to the FDA.
The FDA also wants professional organizations to continue to develop radiation reference levels for medical imaging procedures and to develop one or more national registries for radiation doses.
These registries would collect data from imaging facilities around the country. According to the agency, these data could help "define reference levels where they do not yet exist, validate levels that do exist, and provide benchmarks for health-care facilities to use in individual imaging studies."
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In addition, the FDA wants patients to become aware of their radiation exposure. The agency's plan is to develop a medical imaging history card for patients to keep track of their radiation exposure.
The data would also be available on the FDA's Web site so patients could monitor their radiation exposure and share it with their doctors. This could be particularly important for patients whose radiation exposure is not included in their medical records, the agency said.
According to the Associated Press, Tuesday's announcement comes five months after the FDA began investigating reports of problems with CT scans at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. More than 250 patients were exposed to excess radiation, with many reporting losing hair and skin redness. The FDA has also begun investigating similar problems at two other California hospitals.
More information
For more on radiation risks from CT scans, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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