With accreditation bodies, regulatory bodies, members of the public, facility staff and others worried more and more every day about radiation doses from medical imaging procedures, it is essential that your hospital, imaging center or private practice look at this issue seriously and ensure that it is reducing doses as much as possible. But how do you know if the radiation dose from your CT, fluoroscopy or radiography protocols is as low as possible while still providing excellent diagnostic images? How do members of the public know that they are protected properly and that they can trust your site with themselves or their children? What can you do to ensure that you meet the latest guidelines, regulations and standards?
Optimizing radiation dose is a complex process. To do it properly requires training of technologists, image quality consultation with radiologists, investigation of new hardware and software options and equipment, review and improvement of policies and procedures, and a host of other steps. Plus, how do you properly measure your progress, compare it to industry standards, and articulate your success to your clients, referring physicians and accreditation bodies?
While the process is complex, the answer is simple. Hire a radiation expert to set you on the right course and keep you there. Our diagnostic medical physicists are trained to evaluate the starting dose situation at a facility, draw up a multi-element plan to improve it, and then properly verify and communicate the end result. It is not enough to involve the OEM, technologist and radiologist. You need a professional who is trained in radiation dosimetry, intimately familiar with all of the relevant standards (Joint Commission, ACR, IAC, State, Federal, Image Gently, Image Wisely, California SB 1237, etc.), and can ensure that your investment in time and money to address this important issue is spent wisely. To reduce dose, you have to consider numerous questions: Should you upgrade your scanners with new dose reduction features? Would it be better to invest in dose monitoring software? Are all of your protocols optimized and if not, how exactly do you ensure that they are? Are all your staff trained in dose optimization?
West Physics leads the medical physics industry in providing turn-key CT, fluoroscopy and radiography Dose Reduction Programs to facilities that measure doses, lower doses, help you make optimal decisions about new equipment or software, train staff, and provide information to your patients and staff about what has been done to keep them safe. In many cases, expensive scanner upgrades are NOT what is needed to reduce your doses – what is needed is proper patient dose tracking and analysis, protocol optimization and staff training. Let us help you put all the pieces together.
Our Dose Reduction Programs include the following elements:
- Dose and Image Quality Testing
- Protocol Optimization
- Dose Action Level Setup
- Dose-related Policies and Procedures (P&P) Review and Feedback
- Participation in JC- and State-required Protocol Review Committees
- Technologist and Radiologist Dose Awareness and Reduction Training
- Dose Strategy Consultation
- Dose Reduction Certificate
- Patient Dose Reduction Brochure
- Staff Q&A Session and Training Checkups
- Annual Dose and Image Quality Retesting
- Annual Dose Reduction Review
- Ongoing Protocol Refinement and Dose Action Level Checkups
- Ongoing consultation
Special Note: As part of our dose reduction programs, we are also pleased to provide expert setup, maintenance and oversight of customer dose tracking software packages. Our staff is experienced at working with Bayer Radimetrics, GE DoseWatch, PACSHealth DoseMonitor, and many more! Let a radiation safety professional help you manage your dose tracking and reduction program optimally, and in full compliance with the latest Joint Commission and ACR guidelines.
All of these elements add up to a simple, turn-key comprehensive Dose Reduction Program that will put your facility on solid footing with respect to dose reduction and ensure that you are taking the right steps to lower doses.
Please contact us today for more information about the individual elements of this service and for a no-obligation quote!
West Physics is the premier solutions provider for facilities wishing to pursue the prestigious American College of Radiology (ACR) or Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) accreditations. We can help you with MRI, CT, PET, PET/CT, SPECT, mammography, and ultrasound accreditations. Our visits include phantom scanning (and clinical scanning for MRI if requested), staff training, and assistance throughout the entire process. Our staff has unparalleled training and experience in helping clients successfully apply for and properly maintain their ACR and IAC accreditations.
In the MRI arena, whether you have a 0.2T open system or a 3.0T high-field, our physicists DO NOT GIVE UP on you or your magnet. Even after well over 1,000 accreditations, we have a 99.8% success rate in getting our client’s machines to pass the process. This is why we are one of the only physics service providers in existence to offer a full guarantee on our services and your results. Click here for more information on our exceptional suite of ACR MRI services.
In the CT space, our physicists understand the complex intricacies of proper ACR application preparation as well as the scanning of the ACR phantom. For IAC accreditations, West Physics assisted in the accreditation of one of the very first IAC CT pilot sites in 2007 and we have a very mature technical and administrative assistance package. We employ the very finest Swedish-made (Unfors) CT dosimetry testing equipment to ensure that the accuracy of your CT radiation dose calculations are beyond question. With West Physics, you get the highest possible level of expertise and service, provided at an attractive price.
For PET (or PET/CT) and SPECT accreditation, West Physics was among the very first consulting firms to develop expertise in the ACR process, and we also can provide application assistance for IAC Nuclear/PET accreditation applications. And, of course, in mammography, you can rest assured that your accreditation and ongoing support will be provided by a board-certified and FDA-approved senior medical physicist.
Simply put, no other medical physics consulting firm in existence has both the breadth and depth to support your ACR and IAC accreditation needs. Let us show you why even major equipment vendors recommend West Physics to their customers for ACR and IAC services – they know it will be done right the very first time.
Please contact us today for a no-obligation quote.
West Physics is uniquely qualified to help imaging providers prepare for RadSite’s accreditation programs covering advanced diagnostic imaging, also referred to as the MIPPA Accreditation Programs (MAP). RadSite’s accreditation programs are recognized by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and over 300 private payers.
Over the past decade, RadSite has worked with West Physics to help optimize its quality benchmarking programs. In addition, RadSite regularly calls on West Physics to gain insights on several imaging trends associated with physics testing and reporting.
West Physics provides medical physics testing and application assistance for RadSite’s traditional Computed Tomography (CT), Cone Beam CT (CBCT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Medicine (NM), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT) accreditation programs. Please call us for more detailed information on each modalities’ specialty modules.
West Physics is recommended by RadSite because of their extensive knowledge and understanding of the RadSite accreditation requirements including the technical component. Because of that, we are able to help imaging providers navigate their way through the accreditation process with as little stress and frustration as possible.
Using our own online image uploading software, our dedicated RadSite administrative consultant will work hand in hand with your facility personnel, to complete each element of the very thorough accreditation requirements.
West Physics will be with you every step of the way from application setup to the very last step of earning your RadSite accreditation seal!
Please contact us today for a no-obligation quote or to receive more information.
If your facility chooses to pursue accreditation for its MRI, CT or Nuclear Medicine program through the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), West Physics can help expedite and ease the process. We have assisted more clients in achieving successful IAC accreditation than any other medical physics firm in the world, and we were the very first physics company to achieve IAC accreditation for a cone-beam CT scanner.
IAC accreditation has unique challenges and complexities and our clients count on us to help walk them through the process step-by-step. Our dedicated IAC administrative consultant works hand in hand with your facility personnel, and in concert with your West Physics medical physicist, to complete each element of the lengthy application process.
West Physics has a long history working with the IAC staff to hone our survey procedures, written materials, and application assistance so that we can move you through the process quickly and efficiently – no wasted time, no major hit to your organization’s productivity, and no mistakes.
Don’t go it alone or use a physicist that just does a survey and leaves the rest to you.
Please contact us today for a no-obligation quote.