With CT scans in the United States soaring from about three million in 1980 to more than 80 million in 2015, ColumbusCEO published a new piece examining the risks and rewards of radiology.
Thomas Buse, MD, medical director of radiology at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, discusses how the medical community keeps radiation dose at the forefronts of their minds.
In recent cases, the medical community has been paying much more attention to the overuse of radiation, with some cases, resulting in risks such as deterministic and stochastic. Buse states that OhioHealth has a system of checks and balances, which lets physicians know if a certain scan will exceed the threshold set and sends an alert via email of radiation dose.
“The risk of not doing the test, in terms of missing a diagnosis or inadequately treating a patient, is far more significant. I’d much rather do the test,” said Buse in the article.
“Often, we have to step back and ask why are we doing this test?” said Rajesh Krishnamurthy, MD, chief of the department of radiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “In the majority of cases, it’s because we need to diagnose something in a timely fashion or to see whether a patient is responding to treatment. Those steps can be lifesaving.”
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Jodelle joined TriMed Media Group in 2016 as a senior writer, focusing on content for Radiology Business and Health Imaging. After receiving her master's from DePaul University, she worked as a news reporter and communications specialist.