Abortion care limitations raise medicolegal concerns in IR

Interventional radiology (IR) specialists should be aware of shifting individual state laws on abortion so as to not be blindsided when called on to provide care to pregnant patients, a clinician in the field cautioned recently. In July last year, for instance, North Carolina joined 20 other states by passing new legislation that limits abortion based on timing, type, or other requirements, with 14 states having outright bans, noted Priya Mody, MD, an interventional radiologist in Chapel Hill. In a recent interview with AuntMinnie.com, she encouraged interventional radiologists to be aware of the nuances of these laws. “Though interventional radiologists are not as heavily impacted as our obstetrician colleagues, it is vital that we educate ourselves on the nuances of our individual state laws,” she said. New abortion laws can have a “trickle down” effect on interventional radiologists. In a letter to the editor published recently in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Mody and colleagues outlined specific procedures that interventionalists need to be clear on in terms of minimizing potential adverse legal actions. For instance, there is an increasing use of uterine artery embolization and arterial occlusion balloon catheter placement in patients with complex obstetrical pathology such as ectopic gestations and complex abortion procedures to limit blood loss, morbidity, and mortality, she said. Also, interventionalists may use image-guided ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Digital X-Ray Interventional Source Type: news