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Ceela McElveny, 800-444-2778, Ext. 1239 ASRT DELEGATES ADOPT EIGHT RESOLUTIONS, INCLUDING STATEMENT ON FULL-BODY CT SCANS BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – At its annual meeting June 12, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists’ House of Delegates passed a resolution advising Americans to carefully weigh the benefits and risks of undergoing a full-body computed tomography scan as a screening procedure. Full-body
CT scans are a valuable diagnostic tool that physicians rely upon to detect
disease or injury in symptomatic patients.
Recently, however, thousands of Americans with no symptoms or risk
factors have started requesting full-body CT scans as a screening tool rather
than as a diagnostic test. In
passing its resolution, the ASRT House of Delegates noted that further research
is needed to determine whether full-body CT scans are effective as a screening
tool. The
full text of Resolution 02-3.08 reads, “The ASRT recommends caution regarding
the use of full-body CT screening for healthy clients with no symptoms or risk
factors. The performance of
condition-specific CT screening should be based on clinical evidence and
endorsed by experts in radiation safety and radiologic diagnosis.
Further information is needed to evaluate the efficacy, benefits and
risks of full-body CT screening.” In
passing this resolution, the ASRT joins the American College of Radiology in
cautioning patients about the use of full-body CT scans as a screening tool. The
House of Delegates, ASRT’s legislative body, meets every year at ASRT’s
Annual Conference. The 2002 House
considered 17 resolutions, voting to adopt eight.
The seven other resolutions adopted were: Resolution
02-1.03, Revision of ASRT Position Statement “Infection Control Precautions
for Health Care Professionals” Resolved, the ASRT position statement “Infection Control Precautions for Health Care Professionals” be revised to read: “The ASRT advocates that all radiologic science professionals should follow standard precaution techniques for prevention of transmissible pathogens in health care settings.” Resolution
02-1.04, Revision of ASRT Position Statement “Quality Assessment and
Improvement for Radiologic Technology” Resolved, the ASRT position statement “Quality Assessment and Improvement for Radiologic Technology” be retitled “Quality Assessment and Improvement for Radiologic Sciences” and revised to read: “The ASRT recognizes that quality assessment and improvement refers to the comprehensive system or method of service and practice evaluation. Compliance with established requirements and standards, whether departmental, institutional, accredited agency or governmental/legislative, are measurable, thus indicating a certain quality status or level. Relevant to compliance with such standards, and when necessary, established methods of analysis are employed with possible corrective actions to facilitate improvement in process or clinical functions and outcomes.” Resolution
02-3.01B, Supervising and Training of Unlicensed or Uncertified Individuals by
Radiologic Technologists Resolved, the ASRT adopt the position statement “Supervising and Training Responsibilities for Radiologic Technologists” that reads: “Radiologic technologists should not be required to supervise and/or educate any unlicensed or uncertified individuals in the delivery of medical imaging examinations or radiation therapy procedures unless they are enrolled in an educational program in the radiologic sciences accredited by a mechanism recognized by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) or equivalent.” Resolution
02-3.02B, Revision of ASRT Position Statement “Fluoroscopy by Radiologic
Technologists” Resolved,
the ASRT position statement “Fluoroscopy by Radiologic Technologists” be
revised to read: “The ASRT
recognizes that the performance of all fluoroscopy, to include but not limited
to static and dynamic procedures, is within the scope of practice of radiologic
technologists with the appropriate clinical and didactic education where state
and/or institutional policy permits.” Resolution
02-3.04, ASRT Position Statement on Pregnant Technologists and the MR
Environment Resolved, the ASRT adopt the position statement “Pregnant Technologists and the MR Environment” that reads: “Current data suggest that it is safe for pregnant technologists to enter the MR environment for patient care duties. However, due to limited knowledge of the effects of gradient magnetic/RF fields, the pregnant technologist should NOT enter the MR scanner/magnet room while scanning is in progress.” Resolution
02-3.06, ASRT Position Statement on Multiloading of Film Cassettes Resolved, the ASRT adopt the position statement “ASRT Position Statement on Multiloading of Film Cassettes” that reads: “The multiloading of film cassettes to produce a copy of a radiograph will decrease image quality due to contrast loss and will increase patient exposure. The suboptimal image quality may lead to a misdiagnosis and the increased exposure is inconsistent with an ALARA program. Multiloading of film cassettes to provide a copy of a radiograph is not a recommended practice.” Resolution
02-3.07, ASRT Position Statement on Radiologic Technologists Performing Bone
Densitometry Resolved, the ASRT adopt the position statement “ASRT Position Statement on Bone Densitometry” that reads: “Bone densitometry is a scope of practice for the radiologic technologist. Bone densitometrist describes the radiologic technologist credentialed in bone densitometry.” |
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