Re: therapeutic I-131 dose given to wrong patient

[SMarlette@aol.com]

That's exactly why the Quality Management Program requires identification by 
two means, not including calling out a name and taking the person who 
responds.  Patients always laugh when I ask to see a driver's license before 
giving a therapy dose.  Then when the physician comes in I ask them if this 
is the patient they intend to treat.  They happen to be Radiation Oncologists 
where the taking of Polaroid pictures is common practice to identify 
patients.  It happens, mistakes are made, esp. in the case of language 
problems.  Those are the times when extra caution is needed.
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