[Intl_DxMedPhys] [EXTERNAL] Epic radiation dose hard stop

[Pate, William J.]

And if you are on the mammo side of things, we just really loved it when an Epic upgrade changed the wording of lay interpretive reports to use BI-RADS wording that doesn’t comply with MQSA requirements…

Sincerely,

Will



William Pate, DrPH, MBA, LMP, CHP, CIH, CSP, CRM, CPP, CHFM, CHMM
Associate Vice President, EHS
Radiation Safety Officer & Laser Safety Officer
Institutional Safety Officer
Environmental Health & Safety
Business Operations and Facilities

Adjunct Assistant Professor
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UTMB School for Public and Population Health

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From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu> On Behalf Of Dave Jordan via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 4:37 PM
To: Douglas Pfeiffer <xraydoug at me.com>; DxMedPhys List <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>; Timmerman,Michael <Michael.Timmerman at sanfordhealth.org>
Subject: Re: [Intl_DxMedPhys] [EXTERNAL] Epic radiation dose hard stop


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For those (few) of you who aren’t on Epic yet, when (not if) your organization goes to Epic, I highly recommend signing up for the radiology technologist clinical training. You’ll be able to see this stuff in the training environment and ask
For those (few) of you who aren’t on Epic yet, when (not if) your organization goes to Epic, I highly recommend signing up for the radiology technologist clinical training. You’ll be able to see this stuff in the training environment and ask questions about what the production configuration is; if you’re lucky like I was, you’ll be able to get it fixed before go-live.

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On Oct 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM -0400, Timmerman, Michael via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu<mailto:intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>>, wrote:

Not exactly the same, but I did have a somewhat similar issue with Epic a few years back. This occurred right after we went live with Epic though. Epic put in these best practice advisories (BPAs) for radiation dose without any consultation
Not exactly the same, but I did have a somewhat similar issue with Epic a few years back. This occurred right after we went live with Epic though. Epic put in these best practice advisories (BPAs) for radiation dose without any consultation with Physics or Radiology. Once a patient exceeded an arbitrary cumulative dose threshold (I still don’t know where these thresholds came from), it started notifying everyone accessing the patient chart (and I mean everyone) saying that the patient had exceeded radiation dose limits. Seriously. I was pretty flabbergasted, to say the least. We had those turned off immediately. Luckily, Epic is extremely customizable so they should be able to turn off this hard stop.

Best,

Mike
________________________________________
Mike Timmerman, MS, DABR
Diagnostic Medical Physicist
Sanford Health – Sioux Falls Region
Mobile: (541) 213-1075
<image001.png>

From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu<mailto:intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu>> On Behalf Of Douglas Pfeiffer via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 4:15 PM
To: DxMedPhys List <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu<mailto:intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Intl_DxMedPhys] Epic radiation dose hard stop

Good afternoon, all Epic users. (Well, good afternoon to everyone else, too, but if you don’t use Epic, you can move on. ) For some unknown reason, in the last hour Epic has started putting a hard stop on a screen to enter patient dose for at
Good afternoon, all Epic users. (Well, good afternoon to everyone else, too, but if you don’t use Epic, you can move on.)

For some unknown reason, in the last hour Epic has started putting a hard stop on a screen to enter patient dose for at least some exams (one ped head x-ray and one CT that I’ve been told about so far). It also lists an acceptable dose range, and the max values are ridiculously small. Has anyone else encountered this? We did not ask for it and we weren’t consulted about it. We have IT tickets in, but nothing will be solved until tomorrow at the earliest. Lovely way to start the week!

Best regards,
Doug



Douglas Pfeiffer, MS, DABR FACR, FAAPM (he/him)
Medical Physicist, Radiation Safety Officer
Boulder Community Health
xraydoug at me.com<mailto:xraydoug at me.com>
303.415.7515

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The opinions expressed in this message are the product of the gray and white matter loitering in my cranium. I speak for myself and no one else, unless I say otherwise.


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