 Halloween is just over, so that means that every retailler in the world appears to be ready to jumpstart their holiday marketing. The candy corn wasn't gone from the shelves before the plastic Christmas trees and house decorations appeared. As my daughter has already begun to remind me, it's time for me to start thinking about gift-lists.
Though I have a hard time thinking about Christmas until after I have my fill of turkey and cranberry relish, the entire radiology world seems to have their holiday a month prior to Christmas or Hanukah. It's RSNA and it's a playhouse where clinicians and managers from around the world get to come and spend millions of dollars (of someone else's money, usually) buying the newest toys available.
In our annual tradition of offering advice to those attending RSNA as well as those simply contemplating new equipment, we're offering our article 'The Last MRI In The World' to help identify and avoid some of the most common pitfalls in siting new equipment. This month also features two 'sneak peeks', one at the ACR White Paper on MR Safety that is expected to be published shortly after the first of the year and the other highlights a draft JCAHO Sentinel Event on MRI safety issues that may have implications for thousands of JCAHO accredited MRI facilities.
The 'News Bite' section below reminds everyone about renewing MRI Newsletter subscriptions. If you currently receive the complimentary version, please consider subscribing for 2007. Given the potential for improving safety, efficiency and throughput, the investment of the annual subscription fee is peanuts compared to the potential return!
As allways, we hope that you will contact us if you have any questions about anything you read in the newsletter, or if we can be of any assistance to you.
Robert Junk, AIA, AHRA
Junk Architects, PC
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MRI Newsletter Renewal Reminders Coming As 2006 draws to a close, so does our calendar year subscription period. In the month ahead, watch your inbox for renewal notices. If you're a current subscriber, subscriptions renewed prior to the end of the year will have steep discounts. If you are currently receiving only the complimentary edition and would like access to all of the monthly features, you, too, will have the opportunity to subscribe for 2007 at a reduced rate.MRI Newsletter - Article Archive Is Now On Line!
Don't forget that the archive of previous MRI Newsletter articles has been recently updated. Click here to see all the articles that are available.
While the archive index is available to everyone, only subscribers will be able to access the full text, except the published public-access issues.
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The Last MRI In The World.
By Robert Junk, AIA, AHRA and Tobias Gilk
No matter how hard you’ve worked at it this year, rest assured that Santa doesn’t deliver MRI scanners to the good boys and girls. Aside from the obvious (how could an MRI fit down your chimney?), the reindeer formed a union in the 1970’s and their contract has a maximum weight limit for gifts that precludes anything much heavier than a bicycle. But this fact hasn’t stopped administrators and clinicians from around the world from making their own ‘wish lists’ with upgrades and new 3.0 Tesla MR units.
Even with looming reimbursement cuts, many scanners will be bought and will be wise investments for imaging providers in the United States and worldwide. And even with the increased weight of financial pressures, many of these million-dollar devices will be shoehorned into ill-conceived suites creating lasting legacies of inefficiency and waste. In their haste to unwrap their new toy, imaging providers and their designers will (again) crystallize operational and safety oversights as they install this next MRI as if it was the last one in the world.
Click here to be taken to the full article.
ACR White Paper In 2007
By Tobias Gilk
Inclusion of the latest MRI safety developments, such as concerns about the use of Gadolinium-based contrast agents in patients with severe renal failure, has delayed what was to have been the 2006 White Paper on MR Safety. Now expected to be published shortly after the first of the year, below are a few of the topics expected to be included in the substantially rewritten ACR MR Safe Practice Guidelines: 2007...
Click here to be taken to the full article.
Joint Commission Sentinel Event In The Works?
By Tobias Gilk
Word on the street is that JCAHO has been circulating the draft of a Sentinel Event on MRI safety issues. Recent MRI safety accidents have apparently captured the attention of the Joint Commission which, purportedly, has been asking for input and guidance on a Sentinel Event report that may be released soon. The draft document is said to offer examples of several recent MRI suite accidents, and a recommendation for improved patient safety which will likely become a part of future JCAHO site inspections.
Click here to be taken to the full article.
Articles In The Works
In the upcoming months we will be sharing articles with you on a number of topics, from tools that are immediately applicable, to strategies that will help your facility on into the future. Several planned upcoming articles include:
- The New 10 Questions
- Forthcoming MRI Suite Design Guidance
- Siting Impacts On Image Quality
We Love Hearing From You!
Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments on the articles or issues you'd like to see covered.
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Kansas City, MO 54105
816-472-7722
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