Cedars-Sinai Medical Center exposes patients to dangerous radiation levels
Accreditation Connection, October 19, 2009
More than 200 patients who received brain scans after February 2008 were exposed to radiation dosages after the CT scanner was reprogrammed, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cedars was beginning to use a new protocol for a specialized type of scan used to diagnose strokes. In order to do this, the machine had to be reset to override the original scanner instructions.
An error in the default setting applied to the machine caused any patient receiving a CT scan to get a dose of radiation eight times what it should have been. For 18 months, this error went unnoticed until a patient complained he had begun losing his hair after a scan. After checking patient records, the hospital found that 206 patients had been affected, with 40% of them experiencing hair loss, and even some reddening of the skin.
This discovery caused the Food and Drug Administration to issue an alert to all hospitals across the country, warning them to check their CT protocols.
To read more on the story and visit the Web page, click here.
Related Products
-
Briefings on The Joint Commission
Briefings on The Joint Commission will help you with all of your accreditation and survey preparation needs. Every month...
-
Critical Test Results Troubleshooter:
Improve your hospital's system of critical test results (CTR) communication with this handy book and CD-ROM set. It provides...
-
Performance Improvement Basics, 2nd Edition
Whether your goal is to gather buy-in from facility leaders or to brush up on effective data collection and analysis...
-
Pressure Ulcers: Long-Term Care Clinical Manual
This book provides strategies to help long-term care nurses assess, prevent, and treat pressure ulcers in accordance with...
-
Surgical Safety: Strategies for Patient Safety and Compliance
During this 90-minute program, our experts will explain current Joint Commission and CMS surgical standards, and provide...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- HealthDataInsights posts new issues for medical necessity claims
- Sneak Peek: Effort underway to establish caseload benchmarks
- Q/A: Coding for telescopic intraocular lens
- New FAQ posted on storing laryngoscope blades
- Tip: Perform your own internal investigation prior to government audit
- HIPAA 5010 deadline extended, but threat remains, says AMA
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- E-mailed
-
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Q/A: Coding for telescopic intraocular lens
- Q/A: Correct use of modifier -PT
- Tip: Correctly code bilateral pain management procedures
- "Wall fountains" may be spreading Legionnaires to patients, visitors
- 2012 CPT code changes for ASCs: Shoulder and knee scopes and pain management
- Case Management Monthly, March 2012
- Searched