PO Box 222094
Dallas, Texas 75222
Email: ntrts@live.com
Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy
In 1997 ASRT launched an aggressive campaign to protect patients from overexposure to radiation during radiologic procedures and help reduce the cost of administering health care.
Since the 1999 Congressional session, ASRT has introduced House and Senate bills that pursue basic educational and certification standards for health care workers who administer radiologic procedures in every state in the union. The bill -- known as the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (CARE) bill -- would ensure that patients undergoing all types of radiologic procedures have the same assurance of quality as those receiving mammograms under the provisions of the Mammography Quality Standards Act.
Status of the CARE Bill:
· In the House: It was introduced as H.R. 3652 by Rep. John Barrow from Georgia and currently has 28 signed on as cosponsors. The current plan is to have the bill amended to the healthcare reform bill. The most important thing you can do right now is to contact your congressmen and ask that they support the CARE bill by becoming a cosponsor. You can go to the Elected Officials tab on the ASRT eAdvocacy for You site to find out exactly who your representative and senators are and email them from that site. You’ll find talking points there too.
· In the Senate: Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyoming) has been handling the bill in the Senate. His hopes were to have it included as an amendment to the Senate’s healthcare bill, but no amendments were allowed so that didn’t happen. He then planned to move forward with introducing it as a freestanding bill. However, since that time, as you are aware…the healthcare bills are back to heavy discussion and so there is a strong possibility the reform bill will go back to the Senate for reconsideration.
While we have extremely good news and opportunities ahead of us, we cannot assume things will just happen. It is very important to call your representative and senators and let them know you want to see their support of the bill. Ask them to keep talking about the importance of the CARE bill and how it will help ensure patient safety by having qualified personnel perform procedures.
SPREAD THE WORD to your colleagues, friends, etc. and tell them to call their legislators too. We are at a very critical time, so start now! CREATE THE BUZZ!!
Continue to monitor the ASRT Web site for current news. And, of course, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any more questions. Thanks to Texas for all of your help and support — the efforts are paying off!!
