Radiation Safety Officer - Do I Need One?

There are many states in the union that will require clinics to appoint a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) to manage their radiation safety protocols, registration paperwork, dose monitoring, equipment training, and more. In most settings, this is relegated to the doctor or physician, because most other employees have little to no training or exposure to x-ray standards.

The person who serves as an RSO is responsible for a variety of Records that must be within reach upon state inspection. These documents might include:

• State registration papers

• State communications

• S.O.S business license

• Radiation protection protocols

• Q&A measures for equipment

• Employee radiation safety training records

• Employee equipment training documents

• Dosimetry reports

• Shielding plans

• Radiation safety procedures

• User manuals

• Scheduled maintenances

The need to track these documents is an attempt by states to regulate radiation safety and prudent practices. It is good in theory, but in reality, it is more of a footnote in the back of the minds of administrators and staff.

The qualifications of an RSO vary from state to state, however most must have a relative degree and minor experience. The unspoken attributes that these individuals should have are: attention to detail, project management, organization, and good communication. This is because if an inspector visits the clinic or practice, they may require staff to produce important and relevant documents. If these documents are not organized and available, the clinic stands to be cited for a violation of radiation safety standards.

As a specialist, I've worked with nearly all the states on various radiation safety issues of. Unfortunately, a lot of these sticking points that are characteristic of state inspectors are explicitly connected to their personalities and individual zeal. Up as you might expect some states don't give a care about what documents you have or who manages them. And yet others wish to monitor every move that you make. It is helpful to understand which barrel you reside in.

As the old saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat. While the physician can serve as the RSO, he can delegate duties to his associates to assist in compiling and managing these x-ray records. As in the case of The Radiology Coach, you can hire assistive services, or flat pay a specialist to serve as your RSO so that you can wash your hands and focus on what is more important to you.

It is easy to set up your x-ray department with your x-ray machine, digital images, packs storage, remote radiology readings, etc.. but the proactive management of state compliance mandates is usually placed on the back burner, due to a long legal bylaws and ambiguous concepts. Even though radiologic technology is embedded within the medical field, the specialty has terminology and language specific to itself. These terms, acronyms, and technological jargon make it very difficult to comprehend exactly what states are looking for when reviewing clinics.

We encourage clinics to make it easy on themselves and elicit help from specialists who are experienced, or at the very least understand the technology and terms to effectively bring the clinic into compliance. We're not selling the doctors short, but we do recognize that they have more than enough on their plate to invest hours and hours to bring their x-ray department to standard.

X-ray compliance is a year-round investment. Compiling and managing documentation is a dynamic activity that has constant changes. It must be monitored regularly. In addition, a schedule should be constructed for critical preventive maintenance measures, image quality evaluation, equipment performance evaluations, lead protection procedures and more.

Our services are a combination of available material, research, and consulting. We provide remote services to encompass coaching, management, and training. Whether you need our help or not we encourage due diligence when managing your radiology department. If you fail to do this, it may come back to zap you. Pardon the pun.