ACR releases new white paper on radiation dose in medicine
Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00 | 
| Organizations - American College Of Radiology |
The American College of Radiology has proposed a plan to educate all stakeholders in the principles of radiation safety and appropriate utilization of imaging.
Medical imaging has transformed the practice of medicine as imaging studies increasingly replace more invasive, and often more costly, techniques for any number of indications. Medical protocols must keep pace with this advancing technology and its increased use.
The American College of Radiology (ACR), in an effort to stem the unnecessary growth in radiation dose that Americans receive each year from medical imaging, has proposed a plan to educate all stakeholders in the principles of radiation safety and appropriate utilization of imaging. The ACR’s plan also seeks to standardize radiation dose data to be archived during imaging for benchmarking good practice and to identify (and perhaps offer alternative imaging for) patients who may have received high levels of radiation from frequent imaging exams.
The ACR White Paper on Radiation Dose in Medicine is a far-reaching and extensive set of recommendations designed to counteract medical and societal trends which have contributed to any increased radiation dosage that Americans may experience as this beneficial technology advances.
At the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement Annual Meeting, it was reported that, since 1980, the amount of radiation that the US population receives each year from medical imaging, as opposed to natural sources, has increased fivefold.
Factors such as advancing technology, fear of litigation, increased patient demand, and lack of radiation safety training for nonradiologist providers may be contributing to the significant increase in imaging utilization by nonradiologists and increased orders for imaging exams by referring physicians.
The ACR paper will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology and can be accessed online at http://www.acr.org/s_acr/bin.asp?CID=2528&DID=26119&DOC=FILE.PDF.
The American College of Radiology (ACR), in an effort to stem the unnecessary growth in radiation dose that Americans receive each year from medical imaging, has proposed a plan to educate all stakeholders in the principles of radiation safety and appropriate utilization of imaging. The ACR’s plan also seeks to standardize radiation dose data to be archived during imaging for benchmarking good practice and to identify (and perhaps offer alternative imaging for) patients who may have received high levels of radiation from frequent imaging exams.
The ACR White Paper on Radiation Dose in Medicine is a far-reaching and extensive set of recommendations designed to counteract medical and societal trends which have contributed to any increased radiation dosage that Americans may experience as this beneficial technology advances.
At the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement Annual Meeting, it was reported that, since 1980, the amount of radiation that the US population receives each year from medical imaging, as opposed to natural sources, has increased fivefold.
Factors such as advancing technology, fear of litigation, increased patient demand, and lack of radiation safety training for nonradiologist providers may be contributing to the significant increase in imaging utilization by nonradiologists and increased orders for imaging exams by referring physicians.
The ACR paper will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology and can be accessed online at http://www.acr.org/s_acr/bin.asp?CID=2528&DID=26119&DOC=FILE.PDF.
