Does radiology require informed consent for radiation risk?

Recent trends in medical decision-making have moved from paternalistic doctor-patient relations to shared decision-making. Informed consent is fundamental to this process and to ensuring patients' ongoing trust in the health-care profession. It cannot be assumed that patients consent to the risk associated with medical exposures, unless they have been provided with the information to make that decision.

Experiences of using a commercial dose management system (GE DoseWatch) for CT examinations.

Objective: To assess the use of a commercial dose management system (GE DoseWatch; GEMS, Milwaukee, WI) for CT dose management for six common CT examinations.

Methods: Data were acquired over several months using GE DoseWatch for six common CT examinations on three CT scanners. The dose length product (DLP) was taken as the dose indicator.