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    Patient Safety: Image Wisely & Gently

    Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 12-18) is right around the corner, and it brings to mind something we call Image Gently and Image Wisely in the world of radiologic imaging.

    Patient Safety Awareness Week is time dedicated to raising awareness about patient safety among health care professionals and the public. RMI is committed to patient safety above all else, which is why we follow the principles set forth by Image Wisely and Image Gently.

    What is Image Wisely?

    Image Wisely is a set of radiation safety principles formulated by the Joint Task Force on Adult Radiation Protection, which was formed by the American College of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America using standards developed in collaboration with the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

    RMI’s participation in this pledge means our techs understand radiation exposure and can advise patients, family, and caregivers about risk; radiation dosages are optimized to what is only necessary; we use current imaging protocols and avoid duplicating exams; we monitor radiation dosages, compare them to benchmarks, and participate in a dose index registry; and we have earned accreditation from an organization that evaluates various radiation attributes.

    Learn more at the Pledge for Imaging Facilities.

    What is Image Gently?

    Like Image Wisely, we participate in a program called Image Gently designed to increase awareness that radiation doses may be lowered for children. We follow a set of guidelines specifying that we may image only when there is a clear medical benefit, using the lowest amount of radiation in the correct area of the body. When possible, we use imaging studies that avoid radiation, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound.

    Patient Safety

    We hope our focus on imaging safety alleviates any concerns you may have about radiation dosage during your exam. As always, you may speak with your physician or our technologists about any concerns you may have.

    In the meantime, you can visit our site at www.rmipc.net and select What We Do then the exam you are scheduled to have performed to learn more.