Americans get most radiation from medical scans

Did you catch this article on Yahoo! today?

Americans get most radiation from medical scans. (go to article)

The article cites that routine “chest x-rays when admitted to a hospital or before surgery; imaging tests on car crash victims who don’t show signs of head or abdominal injuries; and low-back X-rays in older people with degenerative, but stable, spine conditions” are some of the most overused x-ray tests.

Even though it would appear the main point being made is the real danger is too many tests, the article does seem to suggest the importance of controlling dose at each x-ray examination as well.  “Except for mammograms, there are no federal rules on radiation dose.”  Our suggestion: Quality Assurance (to maintain optimum image quality) and adjusting technique factors based on Exposure Indexes are two everyday ways to protect patients from excessive radiation at each exam.

It would be interesting if, as the article suggests, a patient “radiation medical record” was developed almost similar to the personal radiation safety monitoring we do for technicians.  In the meantime, we’ll continue to work together to keep those mRs at a safe level for our patients.