February 14, 2013 — Computed tomography (CT) radiation dose can result in unnecessarily high exposures, placing patients at increased risk of cancer and other conditions. Inappropriate radiation doses have raised public concerns and attracted national media attention.
ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, announced an expanded platform of CT safety services to help hospitals and healthcare systems address this critical patient safety issue. The suite of CT radiation services now includes a new Web-based assessment survey, plus customized on-site safety review, publications and guidance articles and technology procurement support.
“We’ve recently expanded the scope of our patient safety and risk assessment capabilities to help healthcare systems effectively and efficiently assess their risks related to CT through the use of confidential surveys,” says Barbara G. Rebold, RN, MS, CPHQ, director, INsight Assessment Services, ECRI Institute. “For many healthcare organizations, this is a good first step to understanding their risks from radiation dose.”
ECRI Institute’s CT Radiation Dose Safety INsight Assessment, the newest offering in its suite of clinical service line web-based assessments, provides a multidisciplinary perspective for identifying risks with a series of standards-based questions on radiation safety, medical staff policy, equipment and security, leadership and accountability, communication and information flow, patient access and availability and more.
“Survey respondents tell us how actionable the recommendations and reports are,” says Rebold.
ECRI Institute continues to help healthcare organizations improve their CT radiation oversight through customized consultation. On-site CT radiation dose safety reviews, directed and led by ECRI Institute’s experienced medical physicists, identifies vulnerabilities and offers solutions that are realistically implementable to minimize patient risk due to unnecessary CT radiation.
“We help healthcare facilities ensure that CT safety is actually practiced by developing policies and procedures that are relevant and practical to their institution,” says Rohit Inamdar, M.Sc., DABR, senior medical physicist in ECRI Institute’s Applied Solutions Group.
ECRI Institute also provides imaging and radiology technology decision support, purchasing advice and customized planning services.
Development of the CT Radiation Dose Safety INsight Survey was partially funded by the Partnership for Patient Care, an initiative supported by the Health Care Improvement Foundation, Independence Blue Cross and Southeastern Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems.
For more information: https://www.ecri.org/Forms/Pages/CT_Radiation_Dose_Safety_Resources.aspx
April 25, 2024 
