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New York Times Author Walt Bogdanich Speaks on NPR About Medical Radiation Errors
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On May 16, Walt Bogdanich, the New York Times reporter who spoke at ACRO's recent annual meeting in San Diego via video feed from New York about medical radiation errors, continued to discuss the subject on the National Public Radio (NPR) show, "Fresh Air," with host Terry Gross.
Bogdanich told Gross that he had become interested in investigating the dangers of medical radiation approximately two years ago when a source told him that premature babies were receiving full-body scans for chest evaluations at a New York hospital, resulting in their exposure to higher doses of radiation than were necessary. What disturbed Bogdanich further was that, despite his report of the situation in the New York Times, the procedures continued.
Now the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter is writing a series of articles on medical radiation errors. He emphasized that the use of radiation saves lives, and errors are rare. "But the doctors who are treating the patients are not giving the patients the information they need," he said.
Bogdanich further explained that errors occur because radiation treatment devices are complex and oversight is spotty. Medical centers that purchase expensive technology have an economic motivation to use the equipment immediately. This can lead to taking shortcuts in training or in treatment protocols. To complicate matters, state-reporting requirements in case of medical errors are not consistent. Some states do not even have such a requirement. But, he noted, perhaps a bigger problem is that there is no standard measurement to determine a patient's cumulative exposure to radiation.
His recommendation to patients who are scheduled to undergo radiation therapy is to ask questions of all those involved with the treatment. Specifically, he said patients should know if a medical center is accredited by a professional healthcare organization and whether the equipment operators are licensed. "This puts the physicians on a higher state of alert," said Bogdanich.
The reporter also recommended that cancer patients receive their treatments at a well-known healthcare institution that has performed the radiation procedures frequently and successfully.
Relevant links:
Interested in a recording the Interview/reading a transcript of the interview?
Click here to visit the NPR website
Click here to download the .mp3 file of Walt Bogdanich's Presentation at ACRO 2011.
Click here for more information on ACRO Accreditation.
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