To raise awareness of the need for ethics considerations in medical imaging

Ethics is an essential component of radiation protection in medicine, but this has not always been recognized by the various stakeholders involved. Medical imaging is universally recognized as an essential tool in healthcare. Yet unlike most of medicine, in practice the dominant approach for implementation of radiation protection is not provided by medical ethics but rather through a framework involving three components - professional development, regulation and governance, and safety culture. Over the past 25 years the use of ionizing radiation in medicine has greatly...

The workshop identified that while those involved in imaging believe they are acting ethically, ethical values such as dignity and autonomy, non-maleficence and beneficence, justice, prudence/precaution, and honesty are not well known, understood or applied. Ethical considerations could be added as a fourth component to the existing radiation protection framework, rather than existing as a separate framework. Building on the existing radiation protection system, WHO has developed a policy brief to addressed a range of issues identified during the workshop. It provides a framework to...

Medical ethics is foundational to good medical practice. It was identified that medical imaging generally takes place within the legal and good practice arrangements for radiation protection but with little reference to medical ethics. This lack of awareness of ethical standards, which has recently come to prominence, may have profound consequences for patients, and there is an urgent need to address it. This will be achieved by providing guidance and support materials for health professionals, patient advocates, patients and the public. The intention is to...

Beauchamp TL, Childress JF (2013). Principles of biomedical ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bochud F, Cantone MC, Applegate K et al. (2020). Ethical aspects in the use of radiation in medicine: update from ICRP Task Group 109. ICRP, Proceedings of the fifth International Symposium. Annals ICRP, 2020;49(1_suppl):143-153. doi: 10.1177/0146645320929630. Epub 2020 Aug 11. Bonn Call for Action: 10 Actions to improve radiation protection in medicine in the next decade (2014). Jointly published by the IAEA and WHO (http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/medical_exposure/bonncallforaction2014.pdf?ua=1 ). Cho K-W, Cantone M-C, Kurihara-Saio C,...

S. Ebdon-Jackson: Nothing to disclose J. Malone: Nothing to disclose A. Reis: Nothing to disclose M. d. R. Perez: Nothing to disclose C. Ho: Nothing to disclose V. Luyckx: Nothing to disclose D. Husseiny: Nothing to disclose F. Bochud: Nothing to disclose C-L. Chapple: Nothing to disclose M-J. Kim: Nothing to disclose H. Jafri: Nothing to disclose