HERCA MedInspector 2015 Workshop

HERCA held a workshop on “How to inspect justification and optimization in diagnostic radiology” on 6-8 October 2015 in Brussels, Belgium.

The workshop brought together inspectors, mainly from Europe, to exchange practical ideas and experiences when it comes to inspection of justification and optimization. From discussions in working groups, the participants produced recommendations and identified good practices on practical aspects of these inspections in the field of diagnostic radiology.

Context

Justification and optimization are two of the fundamental principles of radiation protection and must be carried out for each individual exposure as per the new European radiation protection directive (Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom). Regulatory bodies have an important role in promoting and ensuring that the principles of justification and optimization are properly implemented at medical imaging facilities. Therefore, inspections to verify local implementation of these principles are an important task for regulatory bodies. The goal of HERCA includes facilitating the development of training programmes and providing opportunities to share experiences. This will enable inspectors to gain sufficient competence for issuing advice and influencing justification and optimization processes for medical exposures.

Workshop objectives

To disseminate and harmonize good inspector practices across Europe and to identify areas for improvement. Furthermore, to discuss how onsite inspections can be used to check compliance and to encourage implementation of justification and optimization processes in diagnostic radiology to ensure proper use of medical exposure locally at medical imaging facilities. The workshop covered diagnostic radiology only. Patient and occupational exposure was addressed.

A significant part of the programme was devoted to discussions within working groups to enable the participants to share good practices. From the discussions, the participants produced recommendations on how to inspect justification and optimization processes in diagnostic radiology.