Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2016
Keywords:
Action 11 - Improved patient communication, Action 10 - Improved communication and collaboration of health professionals in radiation protection, Action 3 - Optimisation, diagnostic reference levels, image quality, Action 2 - Clinical diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), Action 13 - Stakeholder engagement and collaboration, Action 12 - Information for and communication with patients
Authors:
D. P. Frush, K. J. Strauss, S. Cater
DOI:
10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0018
Background/Introduction
The Need Continues: Diagnostic imaging accounts for a relatively large percentage of the average total annual exposure per capita in the United States (US) to ionizing radiation [1].
There are justifiable concerns over appropriate use as well as potentially excessive exposure,
especially in children.
There also continues to be both misinformation as well as unbalanced portrayal of the facts about cancer risk from ionizing radiation from diagnostic imaging in both adults and children [2,3],
especially considering trends over the past 2-3 decades for unparalleled improved utilization of advanced and often complex technologies,
such as with computed tomography (CT).
Moreover,
what was available to address both justification and optimization of complex diagnostic imaging examinations had largely nested in the medical imaging community,
with little immediately recognizable integration with other stake holders.
Largely for these reasons,
the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging (Image Gently® Alliance www.imagegently.org),
Figure 1,
Table 1,
was formed in 2007 [2].
The Alliance recognized the need for advocacy for diagnostic imaging in children,
through education and awareness,
and for change through social marketing.
The audience included children,
their caregivers and health care providers [3,4].
These strategies were embraced by Image Wisely® (www.imagewisely.org) (Figure 2) for adults in the US in 2010 and with the creation of the expanding and influential EuroSafe campaign in 2014 (www.eurosafeimaging.org/),
the latter structured to support the Bonn Call-for-Action.
While some of the objectives of these organizations vary,
there are elements common to all in achieving the mission of improved imaging care of patients. To that end,
dialogue continues as Image Gently,
Image Wisely and EuroSafe continue to improve multinational efforts to speak in harmony,
a shared voice.
The Image Gently Alliance: The four founding organizations were the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR),
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM),
American College of Radiology (ACR),
and American Society of Radiologic Technologist (ASRT).
One fundamental consideration for organizational success was partnership: inclusion of major stakeholders in pediatric imaging: medical physicists,
radiologists,
and radiologic technologists,
and their parent US organizations.
The Alliance leadership partnered with other relevant professional societies and organizations,
such as the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
essential in the success of the Image Gently Campaigns.
Since its inception,
and subsequent generation of six campaigns (Figure 3) the Image Gently Alliance now consists of nearly 100 professional organizations (35 are international),
representing over 1,000,000 professional members,
including medical and health physicists,
dentists and dental surgeons,
pediatric surgeons,
and pediatricians. The tactics utilized can be distilled through the elements of (1) the message,
(2) the messengers,
and (3) the messaging,
as recently reviewed [2].