The U.K. Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is lauding a report on interventional radiology (IR) safety released 3 June by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).
The report addresses the risks of misidentifying outpatients scheduled for interventional procedures and was prompted in part by an investigation into a case in which a woman presenting at a gynecology clinic for a fertility assessment was mistaken for another patient and underwent a colposcopy procedure.
The report recommends that National Health Service England review its communication among providers, staff workloads, and IT capability for interventional radiology procedures.
"A significant majority of IR procedures are delivered in a day case or outpatient setting, making the HSIB report pertinent to IR practice," said Dr. Jai Patel, chair of the RCR's Interventional Radiology Committee, in a statement released by the college. "Correct patient identification is also relevant to diagnostic radiology, where large volumes of imaging examinations -- some utilizing ionizing radiation -- are performed on a daily basis in an outpatient setting."
