Health Facilities Management Publishes Article by Mednovus President on Joint Commission Attention to MRI Safety

Leucadia, CA, May 07, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The May, 2009, issue of Health Facilities Management magazine includes an article from Mednovus President, Tobias Gilk, on new MRI safety standards available to the Joint Commission (the largest hospital accrediting body in the US). The article, entitled "Magnetic Attraction: Joint Commission turns its attention to MRI safety," outlines two new areas in which the accrediting body can review MRI protections.

"When it came to fire extinguishers, JCAHO recognized the unique hazards in the MRI environment," said Gilk, referring to the Joint Commission by its former acronym, "but the same logic that applied to fire extinguishers hasn't been applied to any of the other accreditation safety standards for MRI. The current standard changes clearly give the Joint Commission the ability to review physical safety aspects of the MRI suite."

For the first time, the Joint Commission has referenced its own Sentinel Event Alerts, their highest patient safety warning, as a part of their accreditation standards. Now, for physical hazards at the provider, Joint Commission surveyors can reference the safety objectives outlined in the organization's 2008 MRI Sentinel Event Alert.

Additionally, changes in safety standards for the design of new facilities now compel accredited providers to look, prospectively, to safety design criteria other than the default 'Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities' when the Guidelines does not effectively address particular safety concerns for the area in question.

To access the full text of the Gilk article in Health Facilities Management, copy and paste the URL below into your browser.

http://www.hfmmagazine.com/hfmmagazine_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HFMMAGAZINE/Article/data/05MAY2009/0905HFM_FEA_codes&domain=HFMMAGAZINE

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