A National Survey on Safety Management at MR Imaging Facilities in Japan.

PURPOSE: To investigate safety management at Japanese facilities performing human MRI studies. METHODS: All Japanese facilities performing human MRI studies were invited to participate in a comprehensive survey that evaluated their MRI safety management. The survey used a questionnaire prepared with the cooperation of the Safety Committee of the Japanese Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. The survey addressed items pertaining to the overall MRI safety management, questions on the occurrence of incidents, and questions specific to facility and MRI scanner or examination. The survey covered the period from October 2017 to September 2018. Automated machine learning was used to identify factors associated with major incidents. RESULTS: Of 5914 facilities, 2015 (34%) responded to the questionnaire. There was a wide variation in the rate of compliance with MRI safety management items among the participating facilities. Among the facilities responding to this questionnaire, 5% reported major incidents and 27% reported minor incidents related to MRI studies. Most major incidents involved the administration of contrast agents. The most influential factor in major incidents was the total number of MRI studies performed at the facility; this number was significantly correlated with the risk of major incidents (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: There were large variations in the safety standards applied at Japanese facilities performing clinical MRI studies. The total number of MRI studies performed at a facility affected the number of major incidents.

Correction to: Global and Japanese regional variations in radiologist potential workload for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging examinations.

In Results of Abstract, the first sentence should read as: The radiologist potential workload in Japan was 2.78-4.17 times higher than those in other countries.

Global and Japanese regional variations in radiologist potential workload for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging examinations.

PURPOSE: To investigate the global variation in radiologist potential workload for CT and MRI examinations, and the regional variation in potential workload and extent of radiologists' involvement in CT and MRI examinations in Japan. METHODS: "Radiologist potential workload" was defined as the annual number of CT plus MRI examinations divided by the total number of diagnostic radiologists. The extent of radiologists' involvement was measured as the proportion of CT and MRI examinations to which "Added-fees for Radiological Managements on Imaging-studies (ARMIs)" were applied among eligible examinations. Maximum variation was computed as the ratio of the highest-to-lowest values among the countries or Japanese prefectures. RESULTS: The radiologist potential workload in Japan was 2.78-4.17 times higher than those in other countries. A maximum prefecture-to-prefecture variation was 3.88. The average percentage of CT plus MRI examinations with ARMI applied was 43.3%, with a maximum prefecture-to-prefecture variation of 3.97. Prefectures with more radiologists tended to have a higher extent of radiologists' involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Japan had a far greater radiologist potential workload compared with other countries, with a large regional variation among prefectures. Prefectures with more radiologists tended to have a higher extent of radiologists' involvement in CT and MRI examinations.

[Comparison of ERCP and MRCP: invasiveness and cost].

The purpose of this study was to compare ERCP and MRCP in terms of invasiveness and cost. A questionnaire regarding patient satisfaction was distributed to 23 ERCP patients and 63 MRCP patients. The practical cost of each examination and total yearly cost for 2002, including medication costs for post-ERCP pancreatitis, were calculated. On a trial basis, the total yearly cost for 2002 was also calculated as a percentage of the cost in 1996. Results of the questionnaire showed that patients tended to favor MRCP over ERCP. In our hospital, the practical costs of MRCP and ERCP were 2063 points and 3964 points, respectively. Medication costs for pancreatitis corresponded to about 3% of the total yearly cost for ERCP. The total yearly costs for both examinations and the medication costs for pancreatitis were about 1,360,000 points. The result of trial calculation with the examination percentage of 1996 was about 1,950,000 points. The results of our study demonstrated that MRCP is a noninvasive examination for patients and that its popularization contributed to a reduction in medical costs. For further popularization of equipment and advanced imaging methods, careful assessment of examination costs is important.