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Philadelphia-area hospitals and imaging centers collaborate to reduce risks from CT radiation.

ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, and the Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF), an independent nonprofit corporation with a multi-dimensional focus on healthcare safety, announce the launch of a new Partnership for Patient Care regional collaborative focused on improving CT radiation safety.

Jointly funded by area hospitals and Independence Blue Cross, this collaborative will engage hospitals and imaging centers in Philadelphia and surrounding counties in a 12-month project aimed at strengthening patient safety specific to CT imaging. 

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“The overall goal of this program is for 100% of the participants to be actively monitoring recorded CT radiation doses in order to deliver doses that are as low as reasonably achievable,” said Kathy Shostek, senior risk management analyst, ECRI Institute, and the program’s manager. 

CT radiation dose can result in unnecessarily high exposures, placing patients at increased risk of cancer and other conditions. Inappropriate radiation doses nationally have raised public concerns and attracted attention in the media recently. Specific strategies for this program will focus on addressing factors related to inappropriate or excessive radiation doses and implementing practices that optimize CT studies. 

The Partnership for Patient Care (PPC) is a multi-year patient safety collaborative among the Health Care Improvement Foundation, Independence Blue Cross, and healthcare organizations across Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Partnership's objective is to accelerate the effective adoption of evidence-based clinical practices by pooling the resources, knowledge, and efforts of providers and other stakeholders. 

“Independence Blue Cross is proud to support the Partnership for Patient Care. Its innovative projects have directly led to improved care for thousands of people across our region, such as fewer hospital-acquired infections,” said Vic Caraballo, senior medical director at Independence Blue Cross. “We enthusiastically support this latest initiative to improve CT radiation safety, and believe there is tremendous potential to greatly reduce the number of people who receive harmful or unnecessary doses of radiation.”

Kate Flynn, President of the Health Care Improvement Foundation, commented, “For more than five years, hospitals and other healthcare providers have shown that by leveraging their work together, they can make greater strides in quality and safety improvement. Addressing the safety of CT imaging is one more example of our commitment to make southeastern Pennsylvania the safest place in the nation to receive health care.” 

The initiative was announced on June 7, 2011, at a kick-off conference held at ECRI Institute. Nearly 100 healthcare administrators and radiology professionals from more than 30 area hospitals attended the program. Keynote presenter, William Hendee, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin, and ECRI Institute medical physicists, Jason Launders, MSc, and Rohit Inamdar, MSc, provided background on safety issues and identified strategies to protect patients from radiation overexposure. 

“CT system provides precise images and tremendous benefits to patients. But, neglecting the radiation dose will, without a doubt, lead to unnecessary and unwanted consequences,” advised Launders, Senior Project Officer, ECRI Institute, and nationally-recognized speaker on imaging safety. 

Participating facilities will take a confidential patient safety survey to assess CT scanning services at the start of the program as a baseline and again at the end to assess improvement. The program includes reporting of CT radiation dose data, ongoing educational seminars, assistance in implementing action goals, and participation in a collaborative website. ECRI Institute’s interdisciplinary staff will be actively involved with the program.

“Diagnostic CT scans are a very important diagnostic tool that benefits millions of patients. When conducted properly, no CT scans should approach doses high enough for patients to lose their hair and have skin burns,” noted Inamdar, Senior Associate, ECRI Institute.

Source: ECRI Institute