Don’t perform medical imaging/radiation therapy procedures before assessing patient preparedness in order to prevent repeat procedures.

Proper patient preparation reduces the need for repeat procedures and is an important quality and safety consideration for both medical imaging and radiation therapy. A multidisciplinary approach to pre-procedural care emphasizes the importance of advanced planning to achieve the desired outcomes for the procedure and ensures that the procedures do not need to be cancelled or repeated. This includes necessary laboratory results, adherence to dietary requirements and administration of pre-procedure medications. It is the Medical Radiation Technologist’s (MRT) responsibility to ensure patients have completed all necessary pre-procedural instructions.

 

Sources:

Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists. Patient education. Best Practice Guidelines. CAMRT. [Internet]. Nov 2015. [Accessed 17 Dec 2018].

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Taslakian B, et al. Patient evaluation and preparation in vascular and interventional radiology: What every interventional radiologist should know (Part 1). Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2016 Mar;vol39(3):325-333. PMID: 26493820.

Taslakian B, et al. Patient evaluation and preparation in vascular and interventional radiology: What every interventional radiologist should know (Part 2). Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2016 Apr;vol39(4):489-499. PMID: 26606917.

Zaorsky NG, et al. ACR Appropriateness Criteria® external beam radiation therapy treatment planning for clinically localized prostate cancer, part I of II. Adv Radiat Oncol. 2017 Jan-Mar;vol2(1):62-84. PMID: 28740916.