Patient Heath using radiology should be at the forefront for all procedures and acts in all medical practices and facilities. As imaging technology continues to develop, important questions arises:
- Is enough being done to safeguard the patient during treatment?
- Are the doses of radiation given through imaging minimized so that the patient is sufficiently cared for without causing further problems?
These patient health using radiology questions are vital as radiology is inseparable to modern medicine.
The ALARA Principle:
An important principle to radiation is called the ALARA principle. This is an acronym for “as low as reasonably achievable”. Discovering a balance between risk and reward for radiology is important. It can and should be accomplished by consistently updating best practices and procedures as the technology continues to improve.
X-rays or CT scans are ordered because the potential benefits (i.e. the treatment of the patient’s immediately health problem) outweigh the problems radiation presents. For patients with reoccurring problems, however, the risk of repeated scans could raise the chances of developing cancer later in life. In small doses, the body is usually able to recover from radiation, but even repeated small doses can do irreversible damage to cells.
According to David J. Brenner PhD, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center in an interview with Time magazine, research has shown that about a third of CT scans are clinically unnecessary when other means of imaging (like ultrasound) could be used.
The Greater Benefits:
This isn’t to say that CT scans and other radiological imaging methods are too dangerous to use. On the contrary, such scans can help detect and treat many life-threatening conditions, including cancer itself. In truth, all of us live regularly with low doses of radiation from sources like the sun or radon gas. We receive about 3 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation a year, where an x-ray will give you about ten days’ worth of radiation. CT scans, on the other hand, will give about two years’ worth of radiation (about 7 mSv). For medical caregivers, it’s all about understanding the risks and taking the appropriate actions and precautions for each patient.
Contact us at Pacific Healthcare Imaging. Our experienced technicians will help you acquire the best service or system for your facility. Check out our rental plans as well.
At Pacific Healthcare Imaging we sell and support pre-owned, used and refurbished c-arms for medical facilities and we specialize in C-Arms, Mini C-Arms, Portable Ultrasounds.
