by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | October 13, 2015
From the October 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Joint Commission adds CT dose requirements
Another challenge that has popped up for radiology departments is new Joint Commission requirements for imaging. The requirements dovetail somewhat with XR-29, also known as the MITA Smart Dose Standard, but they’re much more far-reaching, says
Dr. Geoff West, the chief executive officer of West Physics, a consulting company that works with hospitals on meeting accreditation requirements and reducing CT dose.
Since July 1, the Joint Commission requires facilities to record a patient’s CT radiation dose index and make it available in a retrievable format. This is less stringent than in the first draft of the requirements in 2014, which would have required that the radiation dose be recorded in a patient’s interpretive report. Some radiologists had concerns about including radiation dose in a patient’s record and the need to educate them about what it means, West says.
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“The radiologists that I spoke to, many supported that and many radiologists are already dictating or transferring that radiation dose into the patient report, but a portion of the radiology community felt that if they started putting the radiation dose into the patient’s report that the physicians and patients who don’t understand rad dose would be overly concerned,” West says. “I, personally, think patients have the right to know their radiation dose, but I don’t think the community is prepared.”
The Joint Commission now also requires facilities to adopt protocols that consider a patient’s age and size, whether there was contrast given, and to determine the expected radiation dose exposure for each CT exam. They must also review and analyze incidents where the radiation dose exceeded the expected dose outlined in the facility’s protocols.
Facilities must also have a medical physicist measure the radiation dose produced by each CT imaging system for adult and pediatric brain and abdomen scans, and conduct annual training for technologists on radiation dose optimization techniques. Dose protocols have varied considerably by individual facility up until now, according to West. “Some facilities have quite advanced radiation dose programs for CT,” West says. “Some have almost nothing. These requirements will really bring all of the accredited facilities up to a minimum level of dose awareness.”
