Radiation and You - What is the risk?
Recent articles and news stories have raised questions concerning the benefits vs. the risk of medical imaging studies. Austin Radiological Association wants you to be informed about the risks of exposure, the steps our practice takes to ensure these risks are limited, what you can do to help, and where you can go for further information.
In the field of radiation protection, it is commonly assumed that the risk for adverse health effects from cancer is proportional to the amount of radiation dose absorbed and the amount of dose depends on the type of exam.
To learn more about some common imaging modalities, the radiation risk associated with each, and an example of comparable risk, read our document Radiation and You.
What does Austin Radiological Association do to help limit your Radiation Exposure?
- ARA has over 80 board certified radiologists, all of whom have extensive training in radiation safety and methods to limit radiation exposure for our patients. One physician serves as Radiation Safety Officer to provide leadership for our internal programs.
- All of our technical staff have both national and state registration and certifications and are trained to monitor the radiation exposure of the equipment they use to perform your imaging.
- The imaging equipment at all of our facilities is American College of Radiology (ACR) accredited. As a requirement of this accreditation, each unit is calibrated and monitored by our staff and a licensed medical physicist, as well as being serviced by factory qualified engineers.
- Our practice supports The Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging and the “Image Gently” Campaign to lower radiation dose in the imaging of children.
- Our radiologists can confer with your physician to ensure the most appropriate imaging procedure is performed to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure.
- Through our affiliation with the American College of Radiology and the American Board of Radiology we monitor the latest publications and trends so that we may quickly implement any new dose reduction guidelines.
Where can I go for more information?
- Presented by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) (click on the safety link) http://www.radiologyinfo.org
- Presented by the Health Physics Society http://www.radiationanswers.org
- Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/radiation/all.html#general
- The Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging - the Image Gently Alliance - is a coalition of health care organizations dedicated to providing safe, high quality pediatric imaging nationwide. The primary objective of the Alliance is to raise awareness in the imaging community of the need to adjust radiation dose when imaging children. http://www.pedrad.org/associations/5364/ig/
- The ACR Appropriateness Criteria® are evidence-based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition. By employing these guidelines, providers enhance quality of care and contribute to the most efficacious use of radiology. The guidelines are developed by expert panels in diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology. Each panel includes leaders in radiology and other specialties. There are currently 169 topics with over 850 variants in the June 2010 version. To access the ACR appropriateness criteria search engine, visit http://acsearch.acr.org
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