[Intl_DxMedPhys] How far should we go with advice

[Kenneth Coleman]

Bob,

You have been invited into a dangerous region. This person has processed some bad information and I don't think you'll be able to correct the problem. Any attempt to do so puts you in an uncomfortable position.

Your idea to provide her links to some accurate information is, I think, the better and safer route to take. It will provide her accurate information and keep you out of the line of fire.

Good luck.

Kenneth A. Coleman, ME, DABMP, DABSNM
President, Medical Physicist
Radiation Services, Inc.
9320 McIntosh Road, Dover, Florida 33527
Cell: 813-245-2427
Office: 813-685-3796
Fax: 813-685-2448
WATS: 800-505-6828

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From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu> on behalf of Bob Kobistek via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 8:51:44 AM
To: DxMedPhys List <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>
Subject: [Intl_DxMedPhys] How far should we go with advice

Hi list. I got a call from a lady who was looking for a hospital to do her calcium score scan. Her local hospital closed. She was asking what would be her effective dose from the scan and explained that she had reached her “lifetime limit”

Hi list.



I got a call from a lady who was looking for a hospital to do her calcium score scan. Her local hospital closed. She was asking what would be her effective dose from the scan and explained that she had reached her “lifetime limit” so essentially, she was shopping for the lowest dose. I asked her to explain the lifetime limit. She said that she had received “an enormous amount of ct rads due to errors at the hospital.” Subsequently a radiologist refused to do a Ba swallow because of it. He told her to not have any more CT scans and only get ultrasound or MRI in the future.



I started typing a response telling her to get a second opinion about the “lifetime limit,” explaining how stochastic effects work, how the decision to go forward with a scan should be based on risk vs benefits of the current scan, not the past scans, and so on. Then I deleted that part out of fear of liability. I’m not a physician, and that lady isn’t even a patient at the hospital where I consult. But on the other hand, I feel that I’m doing her a disservice to not say something about the fool of a radiologist who told her to stop betting CT scans.



I’m thinking pointing her to some lay-language reading material might be a good step.



Thoughts?







Robert J. Kobistek, MS, FACR, DABR, MRSE(MRSC™)

Medical Physicist

RJK Medical Physics, Inc.

440-463-7879


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