Eric L. Gingold, PhD, American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Co-Chair of the Image Wisely® Executive Committee, contributed this piece.
Whether you’re a medical imaging professional, referring practitioner, imaging facility, association or medical education program, safety in medical imaging and medical physics should be at the forefront of your practice, ensuring that your patients receive the highest standard of care. Will you join us as we take the annual pledge to Image Wisely?
A joint initiative of the ACR, Radiological Society of North America, American Society of Radiological Technologists and American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Image Wisely advances safety in medical imaging. We provide up-to-date and free educational resources for radiology professionals and referring clinicians including Safety Cases, RSNA Dose Exhibits and on-demand videos. Our latest video content explores the technical and radiation dose differences between a routine chest CT and a lung cancer screening CT, lung cancer screening exam ordering, the role of technologists, and the benefits of Lung Cancer Screening Registry participation.
After 12 years of raising awareness, bringing attention and providing education about the use of ionizing radiation in medical imaging, in 2023 the Image Wisely campaign will expand its scope to include two other topics that are central to patient safety in medical imaging: MRI safety and contrast agent safety. With the widespread use of both MRI and intravenous contrast agents, the four Image Wisely sponsoring organizations recognized the need for more attention and education on these topics. These technologies enhance medical care by producing extraordinary images of high contrast and resolution, yet both have the capacity to cause serious harm to patients if not used correctly. The new Image Wisely content should be of interest to imaging professionals as well as those who order imaging for their patients and would like to know more.
Check ImageWisely.org to find easy-to-read content which should begin to appear soon, some of which is eligible for CE credit. And while you are there, why not pledge to Image Wisely!
