For the past decade, William W. Orrison, Jr., MD, MBA, served as RadSite’s founding Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer until his retirement this past summer. He also served as Chair of the RadSite’s Standards Committee for many years. His death has left a deep hole in the medical community as well as in the hearts of the people who knew him, respected him and loved him. Throughout his truly remarkable career he always kept people at the heart of his work and maintained unfailing empathy for patients and their families.
Dr. Orrison’s work greatly impacted the practice of radiology and advanced diagnostic imaging. His achievements were many. He was a key advocate of safe diagnostic imaging and spent much of his time advocating for patient safety through proper dosage levels as well as education about ensuring the quality and safety of imaging equipment. He advocated the principle “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) for all radiological examinations. He brought years of expertise to RadSite and tirelessly worked for consistent quality standards for diagnostic imaging through the RadSite accreditation program. One of his many contributions included writing and presenting a webinar, “Patient Safety in Medical Imaging.” To view the webinar, click here.
Dr. Orrison completed two fellowships in neuroradiology, the first at Ulleval Hospital in Oslo, Norway in 1981, and the second at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In 1997, he became Professor and Chairman of Radiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and conducted cutting-edge research in magnetoencephalography (MEG). To promote his medical inventions, he earned a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Utah in 2002. The following year he left academic medicine to open advanced medical-imaging centers in Las Vegas, while remaining active as an author, researcher and lecturer. Dr. Orrison wrote five textbooks on medical imaging, including Neuroimaging, known as “the bible” on the subject, and was the primary author of the Medical Imaging Consultant series. He contributed 24 chapters to others’ books, authored or co-authored 145 major papers and 172 scholarly abstracts, secured 11 patents and conducted nearly 2,400 hours of continuing medical education.
Garry Carneal, JD, MA, Chair, RadSite Advisory Board, worked with Dr. Orrison to establish and grow RadSite’s accreditation program. Carneal said, “Dr. Orrison provided insightful clinical leadership to RadSite over the years. He was an excellent communicator and served as a mentor to all of us. His expertise and passion, and his friendship, will be missed.”
Final Thoughts | William W. Orrison, Jr. MD, MBA
RadSite is a leader in promoting quality-based imaging standards – along with safety and business efficiency practices in health care. RadSite’s MIPPA Accreditation Program (MAP) offers insurers an excellent contract management tool to focus on outcomes, costs and a quality improvement framework that brings value to your organization’s management of imaging services. We also offer educational programs, publish issue briefs and underwrite research on a complimentary basis to raise awareness of patient safety issues and to promote best practices.