At an outpatient imaging center licensed by the NRC, a technologist discovers after lunch that a patient was injected this morning with a radioactive drug other than the one ordered and prescribed. The administration is confirmed as a wrong-drug medical event while the record is still being assembled. Which action satisfies the medical event notification requirement?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Once you confirm the wrong-drug medical event, make the phone call to the NRC Operations Center no later than the next calendar day after discovery; paperwork cannot replace that first alert. Then submit the written report within 15 days.
Full Explanation
The required response has two parts: you must notify the NRC Operations Center by telephone no later than the next calendar day after discovering the medical event, and then submit the written report within 15 days. A 30-day written-report deadline allows too much time, even when the telephone call is made by the required deadline. Submitting the written report within 15 days does not make a telephone call on the second calendar day timely; the call must be made no later than the next calendar day after discovery. Counting 15 business days for the written report also fails because the required period is 15 days, not 15 business days, which could extend the deadline. An exam caveat is that NRC medical-event notification is distinct from any separate duties to inform the referring physician, patient, or state authorities; those duties do not substitute for NRC notification. In practice, verify and document the discovery date and time, record when and to whom you made the telephone notification, and calendar the written-report deadline according to the applicable rule and facility procedure.