Crack-down on private health checks
Wednesday April 7th, 2010
Private health MOT companies are to be deterred from using some hi-tech body scans because of the risk they pose to patients, it was announced yesterday.
The private health checks often come with a CT scan - but these scans rely on x-rays, which pose a radiation risk to patients and can be a lot more powerful than a dentist's x-ray.
Now
government advisers have said some scans should be banned - and others
should be subject to new rules.
The advice comes from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment.
The committee says scans may not be banned - but should cease to be used following its advice.
It says: "There is little evidence that demonstrates, for whole body CT scanning, the benefit outweighs the detriment.
"COMARE recommend therefore that services offering whole body CT scanning of asymptomatic individuals should stop doing so immediately."
The department is now to ask the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Physicians to draw up detailed guidance.
Public health minister Gillian Merron said: "Any scan a patient undergoes should balance the clinical benefits against the risks of the radiation involved. I welcome the decision to define more closely the considerations that should govern CT scanning in cases of individual health assessments."
Tags: General Health | UK News
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