Finding a silver lining: the importance of documenting medical tragedies

Authors

  • Judith A. Wiener Associate Professor and Assistant Director for Outreach and Collections, Health Sciences Library, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.408

Keywords:

Medical History, Medical Tragedies, Columbus, OH, Archives, Radiation Overexposure

Abstract

The radiation overexposure tragedy at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital impacted hundreds of patient lives and made a lasting impression on the regulation and oversight of the use of radiation medicine on a national level. Archival documentation of the incident and the current-day importance of the data collected during and after the event is discussed and highlights many of the reasons why the history of past medical disasters matters to us today.

Author Biography

Judith A. Wiener, Associate Professor and Assistant Director for Outreach and Collections, Health Sciences Library, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Associate Professor and Assistant Director for Collections and Outreach, The Ohio State University Health Sciences Library

References

Stern-Rubin L. The riverside radiation tragedy. Columbus Monthly. 1978 Apr;52–66.

Yost M. Regulation could widen to cover radiation error. Columbus Dispatch. Date unknown. Located at: Vertical Subject File Collection. Ohio State University Medical Heritage Center, Columbus, OH.

Cohen L, Schultheiss T, Kennaugh R. A radiation overdose incident: initial data. Int J Radiation Oncology Biol Phys. 1995 Aug 30;33(1):217–24. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0360-3016(95)00089-H.

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Published

2018-04-05

Issue

Vol. 106 No. 2 (2018): April 2018

Section

History Matters