ASTROgram: California radiation bill passes state Assembly

The California Assembly overwhelmingly approved legislation August 26, 2010, that would establish protocols and safeguards to protect patients from radiation overdoses in medical imaging and radiation therapy. The bill requires that overdoses be reported to patients, their treating physicians and the Department of Public Health. For radiation therapy specifically, medical staff would be required to report any treatment in which the radiation dose exceeds the prescribed dose by 20 percent or more. The legislation stems from the exposure of 260 patients to abnormally high doses of radiation during CT scans at one of the state's top medical facilities. The bill is currently being debated in the state Senate.