(a) Except for an event that results from patient movement or interference, a facility shall report to the department an event in which the administration of radiation results in any of the following:

(1) Repeating of a CT examination, unless otherwise ordered by a physician or a radiologist, if one of the following dose values is exceeded:

Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 115113

  • Department: means the State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 114985
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Ionizing radiation: means gamma rays and X-rays. See California Health and Safety Code 114985
  • Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency, political subdivision of this state, any other state or political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing, other than the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Department of Energy, or any successor thereto, and other than federal government agencies licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, under prime contract to the United States Department of Energy, or any successor thereto. See California Health and Safety Code 114985

(A) 0.05 Sv (5 rem) effective dose.

(B) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) to an organ or tissue.

(C) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) shallow dose to the skin.

(2) A CT X-ray examination for any individual for whom a physician did not provide approval for the examination if one of the following dose values is exceeded:

(A) 0.05 Sv (5 rem) effective dose.

(B) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) to an organ or tissue.

(C) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) shallow dose to the skin.

(3) A CT X-ray for an examination that does not include the area of the body that was intended to be imaged by the ordering physician or radiologist if one of the following dose values is exceeded:

(A) 0.05 Sv (5 rem) effective dose.

(B) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) to an organ or tissue.

(C) 0.5 Sv (50 rem) shallow dose to the skin.

(4) CT or therapeutic exposure that results in unanticipated permanent functional damage to an organ or a physiological system, hair loss, or erythema, as determined by a qualified physician.

(5) A CT or therapeutic dose to an embryo or fetus that is greater than 50 mSv (5 rem) dose, that is a result of radiation to a known pregnant individual unless the dose to the embryo or fetus was specifically approved, in advance, by a qualified physician.

(6) Therapeutic ionizing irradiation of the wrong individual or the wrong treatment site, excluding the area of the body that was intended to be irradiated.

(7) The total dose from therapeutic ionizing radiation delivered differs from the prescribed dose by 20 percent or more. A report shall not be required pursuant to this paragraph in any instance if the dose administered exceeds 20 percent of the amount prescribed in a situation if the radiation was utilized for palliative care for the specific patient. The radiation oncologist shall notify the referring physician that the dose was exceeded.

(b) The facility shall, no later than five business days after the discovery of a therapeutic event described in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) and no later than 10 business days after discovery of an event described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a), provide notification of the event to the department and the referring physician of the person subject to the event and shall, no later than 15 business days after discovery of an event described in subdivision (a), provide written notification to the person who is subject to the event.

(c) This section shall become inoperative on the effective date of the act that added this subdivision, and shall remain inoperative until July 1, 2012.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 106, Sec. 3. (AB 510) Effective July 13, 2012. Note: Subd. (c) was added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 139, and made this section inoperative from August 1, 2011, until July 1, 2012.)