In my January 25 blog post, I discussed a phenomenon that should be of concern to patients in Massachusetts and elsewhere – the prevalence of medical malpractice involving radiation overdose.
This week, the Food and Drug Administration announced its “Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging.” The initiative will focus on two goals: 1.) insuring the medical necessity of any imaging procedure and 2.) optimizing the amount of radiation necessary for each procedure.
Over the past two decades, Americans’ exposure to ionizing radiation has nearly doubled. This increase in radiation exposure is largely attributable to exposure from CT scans, fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine. According to one study, the CT scans performed in the United States in 2007 alone could lead to 29,000 additional cases of cancer down the road.
It will be interesting to see how successful the FDA is in persuading the medical profession to use medical imaging only when necessary, especially in light of how profitable such procedures are for hospitals.
The corporate defense blog Mass Tort Defense has more on this story.

If you or someone you know has been injured by radiation overdose, or some other form of medical malpractice, and require the services of a Boston medical malpractice lawyer, call The Law Office of Alan H. Crede at (617)973-6434 to arrange a free in-person consultation.