Whitney Palmer

Smaller Hospitals Reach CT Dose Reduction Through Education, Collaboration

Published on the Aug. 26, 2011, DiagnosticImaging.com Website

By Whitney L.J. Howell

Smaller hospitals might worry they don’t have enough staff or time to effectively reduce CT dose exposure for patients, but one hospital’s success proves it can be done.

By changing protocols for CT angiographic imaging, Gundersen Lutheran Health System, a physician-led, La Crosse, Wis.-based health system serving 19 counties, endeavored to reduce dose exposure after purchasing a dual-source CT system in 2006. Rather than use a generic protocol for all patients receiving CT angiographic imaging, radiologists and technicians determined proper dosage based on patients’ body mass index. The result: a 29 percent drop in dose exposure.

This accomplishment prompted radiologists to apply reduction efforts to all protocols.

“Expanding the dose reduction plan fit with our overall strategy at Gundersen Lutheran to provide the highest quality services and protect patient safety,” said Mary Ellen Jafari, Gundersen’s radiation safety officer and medical radiation physicist. “The program fit nicely into the organization’s goals, and we had a lot of administrative support to make this happen.”

To read the remainder of the article online: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/low-dose/content/article/113619/1936917

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