Guide
Can a patient claim for unprotected radiology testing?
Source: Yimaitong Author: Rushing Emergency Lao Liu This article is authorized by the author to be published by Yimaitong, please do not reprint without authorization.
Is there a risk of radiation, was it foretold?
What precautions do you need to do for radiology and have you done it?
Have you been penalized for not following the rules?
Event recap
On April 28, the official website of the Zhoushan Municipal Health Commission of Zhejiang Province published an article entitled "Failure to use personal protective equipment for the examinee during filming? Beware of being penalized! article. (The article has now been deleted)
I didn't expect one stone to stir up a thousand waves. On April 30, #放射科未给受检者穿防护服医疗机构被罚#的话题冲上热搜榜第一位, it aroused widespread attention and discussion. This time, the hot discussion is not about doctor-patient disputes, but about administrative punishments.
Source: Weibo screenshot
According to media reports, recently, law enforcement officers of a county health bureau in Zhejiang found that two subjects in the radiology department of a medical institution did not wear personal protective equipment when they conducted X-ray imaging examinations.
The law enforcement officers immediately questioned the radiological diagnosis and treatment personnel who carried out the radiological imaging examination, and the medical personnel involved admitted on the spot: due to the large number of patients, it was inconvenient to put on and take off the protective clothing, and in order to facilitate the operation, the examinee was not reminded to wear protective clothing before the corresponding radiological examination. In the end, the county health bureau filed a case against the medical institution and imposed corresponding administrative penalties.
As soon as the news came out, netizens from all over the world left messages in the comment area, saying that they had never heard that they also needed to wear protective clothing for radiological imaging examinations. Many netizens are also worried about whether the radiological imaging examinations that have been received will cause harm to the body without protection.
Source: Weibo netizen comments
Why can't the radiation protection provisions be enforced?
The "Provisions on the Administration of Radiological Diagnosis and Treatment" clearly stipulates that when radiological diagnosis and treatment staff conduct medical radiation on patients and examinees, they shall abide by the principles of justification of medical exposure and optimization of radiation protection, have a clear medical purpose, and strictly control the dose of radiation; Shielding sensitive organs and tissues adjacent to the irradiation field and informing patients and subjects of the health effects of radiation in advance. If safety protection devices and personal protective equipment are not used in accordance with the regulations, the health administrative department at or above the county level may give a warning and order correction within a time limit; and may be fined up to 10,000 yuan.
Warning signs such as "Beware of ionizing radiation" and "If you are pregnant, inform your doctor in advance" are posted on the doors of all radiology examination rooms. In some of the examination rooms, there are also pictures and texts posted, telling you to "use protective equipment during the inspection" and how to wear protective equipment, and each examination room is equipped with a certain amount of protective equipment.
Although the protective equipment in the hospital is in place, in practice, some medical technicians will neglect to help the examined person to protect it. As mentioned above, many netizens in the comment area commented that they had never seen radiation protective clothing, and they had never been protected when they were undergoing radiation examinations.
Before the medical technicians of the radiology department take up their posts, the content of radiation protection is the content that must be mastered. Some medical institutions pay more attention, and the department management is in place, and appropriate protection is done for each patient. Some medical institutions are loosely managed, and may pay more attention to protection for pregnant women and children, while ordinary patients, especially the elderly, are not given much protection. A small number of medical institutions do not protect at all, and protective equipment is only used in response to inspections, and it is usually furnished.
According to a report by Red Star News, it is not uncommon for the health administrative department to be investigated and punished by the health administrative department for failing to wear the necessary protective equipment for patients and accompanying patients.
On July 21, 2023, the official website of the Tengchong Municipal Health Bureau of Yunnan Province issued a notice pointing out that Tengchong City investigated and dealt with one case in which the hospital carried out radiation diagnosis and treatment and failed to wear necessary protective equipment for patients and accompanying patients, and the medical institutions involved were fined 4,000 yuan.
On July 10, 2020, the Health Commission of Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, issued an "Administrative Penalty Decision" to the Nanshan Branch of Ma'anshan Central Hospital, which determined that Huang, a radiology diagnosis and treatment staff member of the hospital, did not wear a personal dosimeter and did not see the protective equipment of the examinee in the DR computer room. In the end, the hospital was given a warning and fined 2,500 yuan for administrative punishment.
Of the 11 medical institutions notified in the "Administrative Punishment Information from January to February 2021" released by the Anhui Wuwei Municipal Health Commission, 5 of them were punished for "failing to use personal protective equipment in accordance with the regulations in the radiology department"; Another hospital was punished for "failing to conduct health examinations for radiology diagnosis and treatment staff in accordance with regulations".
The reason why medical technicians do not perform such operations on the premise of knowing that they need to protect the sensitive parts of patients is because they are afraid of trouble. In some medical institutions, there are many patients waiting to be examined in the radiology department, and putting on and taking off protective clothing is really "troublesome" and "waste of time". Some medical technicians believe that no protection will cause serious effects, and ignore protective operations.
As a medical technician, the implementation of medical technology in accordance with management regulations and diagnosis and treatment standards is the bottom line. The reason why there are relevant regulations is to protect both doctors and patients. In addition, in addition to consciously implementing protection, department management is also crucial. For basic theories, basic knowledge, and basic skills, it is necessary to train frequently, and strictly require and standardize practice.
Can a patient claim for unprotected radiology testing?
It will be announced on the official website after inspection and punishment by the health administrative department, which aims to warn all medical institutions and clinical medical technicians to attach importance to diagnosis and treatment and standardize diagnosis and treatment behavior. However, after being discovered by the media, things seem to have been fermented a little. Many netizens who have undergone radiological examinations will question it, believing that the hospital may cause damage to itself if it implements radiological examinations without protection.
Will the medical institution face a claim in this case?
In the news report, the health bureau did not publish the name of the medical institution, and the investigation and punishment of this medical institution may not lead to complaints and claims from patients who visit the medical institution.
However, due to the exposure of this violation, it has attracted widespread attention from netizens, and some patients who are skeptical may complain or go to medical institutions to defend their rights.
As for the issue of compensation, the three elements of tort damages have been repeatedly mentioned in the column of "Medical Eye View". First of all, the patient must have the harmful consequences, the doctor is at fault, and there is a causal relationship between the doctor's fault and the patient's harmful consequences. Finally, according to the causal relationship, that is, the degree of fault to the damage consequence, the compensation ratio is finally determined. Of course, the consequences of damage, fault and causation usually require professional analysis and judgment by a professional third-party organization.
Patients who fail to protect themselves from radiological examinations usually have no obvious consequences of the damage, or that it is difficult to see the effects or damage in a short period of time, and even if there are some abnormalities in the future, such as thyroid dysfunction and infertility, it is difficult to prove that they are related to a single radiological examination. In addition, it is difficult for patients who have already undergone radiological examinations to prove whether protection was performed at the time of the examination, so it is difficult to determine the fault of the doctor.
Therefore, for patient claims, it may be difficult to determine the fault of the hospital and the consequences of the patient's damage through legal channels, and the only possible way to claim compensation is to complain to the hospital and the health bureau to obtain a certain amount of compensation under mediation. Of course, in this case, the hospital usually will not compensate, and it may be necessary to standardize the operating procedures and prevent possible disputes.
Column Counsel Lawyer:
Lawyer Liang Yu and lawyer Xiang Haiman of Beijing Gordon Law Firm. Mr. Gordon focuses on civil and commercial legal litigation, corporate legal counsel and medical litigation, and has long been engaged in medical law research and practice, and has rich experience in medical law.
The incident in this article is from: the Internet.
Editor-in-charge|Atai Yiyi
Cover image source: Visual China
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