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Turning tools into solutions: radiation dose management in 2016

The growing need for dose management solutions requires a new philosophy

Radiation dose management is a growing concern in the diagnostic imaging field – rightfully so – as too much radiation exposure can lead to adverse health consequences for both patients and physicians. Monitoring radiation levels is of critical importance for both providers and manufacturers, especially in light of The Joint Commission’s new standards introduced in July 2015 that now require hospitals to establish stricter radiation dose management processes.

While radiation exposure is necessary for physicians to perform life-saving procedures, the average radiation dose levels received are staggering. In fact, it is estimated that interventional radiology physicians receive approximately 3 mSv of radiation dose per year, which is more radiation than a nuclear power plant worker receives (1.23 mSv) over the same time period.

Recently there has been a boon of new health care technology to help manage radiation dose to patients, namely automated “dose tracking software” that collects patient radiation dose from imaging exams and performs detailed analysis. Healthcare providers are already seeing this help drive the improvements required by the Joint Commission.

In addition to managing patients’ radiation dose, it’s also critical to manage radiation exposure to physicians and caregivers. Tools are also now available to read in real time radiation exposure in the operating room.

While these advancements are promising, Philips remains committed to driving further innovation in radiation dose management and continuous improvement for its DoseWise Portal and DoseAware products in 2016 and beyond – turning its tools into comprehensive, program-based solutions for providers and risk bearers. For these solutions to work, both hospital systems and care teams must adopt a new philosophy – one of understanding, integrating, educating and improving – in order to provide the most continuous and innovative quality of care.

A New Radiation Dose Philosophy: Understand, Integrate, Educate, Improve

This new world of enhanced radiation safety oversight can be grouped into four “pillars” to build and sustain a thorough and effective radiation safety program.

1. Understand: Establish technical evaluation and analysis of the care providers’ radiation protection program for a baseline view of the current radiation dose management protocols.

2. Integrate: Enable customized tools and solution implementation to drive improvement in managing radiation exposure to patients and staff.

3. Educate: Enable a collaborative learning environment within the health care institution to make appropriate training available so that staff knows how to use the tools they have invested in. Don’t forget about patients! Educating patients on the risk and benefits of their medical radiation exposure is an important part of transparent care that is currently underdeveloped.

4. Improve: Use industry benchmarking and other comparative analysis in collaboration with professional support to drive improvements and lower dose levels to both patients and staff.

Utilizing health care data efficiently and effectively empowers clinicians/providers. With the right solutions, quality of care can improve, allowing for increased precision and personalization in medicine. In the year ahead, imaging manufacturers will assist in data-driven decisions that are backed not only with innovative tools to effectively monitor and track radiation dose levels, but also with sustainable programs to further educate providers and improve radiation dose management – ultimately allowing for a safer future in diagnostic radiology.

Dominic Siewko, CHP

Radiation Health and Safety Officer, Philips

As the Clinical Marketing Manager for DoseWise Solutions, Dominic is responsible for leading and coordinating radiation health issues globally for all Philips Healthcare Imaging Systems. He supports radiation emitting medical devices for compliance with international/FDA standards and performs incident analysis/investigation, regulatory body liaison and operates as an internal expert radiation consultant.

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