Overlake Medical Center Setting and Sharing New Standards for Low-Dose Radiation

Bellevue, Wash. – Overlake Medical Center announced today it is publicly sharing the dosage levels of all CT scans in an effort to provide patients with vital information about radiation exposure—and is hoping to inspire other institutions to follow suit.

“Our decision to be completely transparent and accountable about our dosage levels is reflective of Overlake’s broader commitment to keeping patients safe,” said David Winokur, director of Overlake Medical Imaging. “We can make this happen because we have state-of-the-art CT scanners, combined with dose-tracking software and expertise to analyze the data.

“However, no matter how advanced our medical hardware and software is, without a huge commitment to teamwork this process won’t work. Determining the most efficient, lowest levels of radiation is a serious investment in time, collaboration and training. Physicists, radiologists, technologists and administrators meet regularly to re-examine the protocols and set optimal radiation levels,” Winokur added.

CT scanners, which can take over 300 cross-sectional images of the body’s interior, carry the highest radiation exposure. Overlake annually performs over 27,000 of these procedures. 

“It’s our goal to raise the transparency bar, and to encourage other area health care organizations to follow suit and make public this very important information,” said Winokur. “Sharing dosage information and tracking patient radiation levels throughout their life time is an outcome all institutions care about.”

The newly opened Overlake Medical Imaging offers comprehensive outpatient and inpatient medical imaging services including a filmless environment and picture archiving communications system. The system digitally stores, transmits and displays patient images, allowing for immediate access and greater efficiency. The main office is on the Overlake Medical Center campus in Bellevue, with an additional facility in Issaquah.