Radiation oncologists push for safety standards

The New York Times: "The leading professional organization dedicated to radiation oncology has called for enhanced safety measures in administering medical radiation, including the establishment of the nation's first central database for the reporting of errors involving linear accelerators — machines that generate radiation — and CT scanners. The group, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, or Astro, issued a six-point plan on Wednesday that it said would improve safety and quality and reduce the chances of medical errors. ... Astro will also press for federal legislation to require national standards for radiation therapy treatment teams" (Bogdanich, 2/4).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.