Web Exclusive: ASTRO calls on Congress to implement patient safety plans
ASTRO Chair Tim R. Williams, M.D., testified at the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing, “Medical Radiation: An Overview of the Issues,” in Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 26, 2010. Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) called the hearing in response to a recent series of New York Times articles, which reported safety lapses and regulatory shortfalls in the radiation oncology field.
In his testimony, Dr. Williams highlighted the promise of radiation treatments to effectively treat cancer patients, allowing them to live longer, higher quality lives than ever before. However, given the risks involved in administering these sophisticated treatments, Dr. Williams also emphasized the importance of rigorous standards and oversight to ensure patient safety.
“ASTRO’s highest priority is ensuring that patients receive the safest, most effective treatments,” Dr. Williams said. He continued, saying Congress’ hearing provided “an opportunity to further improve our efforts to strengthen the practice of radiation oncology.”
Dr. Williams urged subcommittee members to adopt the goals of ASTRO’s six point patient safety plan, “Target Safely,” which would:
- Strengthen error reporting.
- Advance federal initiatives to help protect patients from radiation errors, including:
- Passage of the CARE Act that requires national standards for radiation treatment team members.
- Increased funding for the Radiological Physics Center at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the quality assurance activities of the Advanced Technology Consortium at Washington University in St. Louis.
- Congressional inquiry into self-referral.
- Help patients understand what to ask their doctors about radiation therapy.
- Enhance the joint ASTRO-ACR radiation oncology practice accreditation program.
- Expand educational training programs to include an intensive focus on quality assurance and safety.
- Accelerate the IHE-RO health information technology interoperability efforts including standards that allow the transfer of treatment information from one machine to another seamlessly to reduce the chance of a medical error.
“ASTRO has been developing and refining many of these programs for years,” Dr. Williams said. “In today’s environment, medical technology and decision-making are increasingly complex. We believe our plan holds the promise of ensuring patient safety in this challenging atmosphere.”
Dr. Williams was joined on the panel by witnesses representing the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Society of Radiologic Technologists, American College of Radiology, New Jersey Health Care System of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Imaging Technology Alliance, and Medicalis, Inc. These groups also testified that tighter oversight, accountability, and accreditation standards would help ensure patient safety.
The hearing was opened by an earlier panel, which included:
- James and Donna Parks, the parents of a Scott Jerome-Parks, a victim of a rare but fatal radiation overdose at St. Vincent’s in New York that was featured in the New York Times.
- Suzanne Lindley, a patient from Canton, Texas, who has benefited from several types of advanced radiation treatments for colon cancer.
- Rebecca Smith-Bindman, M.D., Professor in Residence, Radiology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
- Eric E. Klein, Ph.D., Professor of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis.
- Cynthia H. McCollough, Ph.D., Director, CT Clinical Innovation Center, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Professor of Radiological Physics, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
At the end of the hearing, Rep. Pallone said that the subcommittee would continue working on the issues, including possibly holding more hearings.
Full written testimony and video recordings of the hearing can be found on the House Energy and Commerce Web site.