CMC Radiology commits to the safe practice of diagnostic imaging
The Image Gently Alliance is a coalition of health care organizations dedicated to provide safe, high quality pediatric imaging nationwide while raising awareness within the imaging community of the need to adjust radiation dose while imaging children.
The Image Gently pledge is taken by imaging professionals who agree to “image gently” by:
• Making the “image gently” message a priority in staff communications;
• To review imaging protocol recommendations and, where necessary, implement adjustments to minimize exposure;
• To respect and listen to suggestions from every member of the imaging team on ways to ensure changes are made;
• To communicate openly with parents.
The Alliance for Radiation Safely in Pediatric Imaging thanks those who commit to “image gently” in the imaging of children. At CMC, we are pleased to support this mission through participation in the pledge program, evaluation of dose parameters for each patient at every visit and annually with a physicist, and by working closely with Radiologists to ensure right sized imaging. More information about the image gently campaign can be found at www.imagegently.org
Image Wisely
The American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America formed the Joint Task Force on Adult Radiation Protection to address concerns about the surge of public exposure to ionizing radiation from medical imaging. This force collaborated with the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists to create the Image Wisely campaign with the objective of lowering the amount of radiation used in medically necessary imaging studies and eliminating unnecessary procedures. Optimizing practices with dose reduction, radiation safety and radiology imaging training.
The ACR gold seal of approval is a visual cue for imaging sites denoting quality and safe imaging. CMC is proud to be awarded the gold seal for imaging in CT, MRI, and Ultrasound; CMC is also a designated lung cancer screening site and a breast imaging center of excellence.
In order to reduce repeat imaging, CMC uses an image sharing software called Powershare. This software is currently used in more than 15 facilities, allowing images to be shared with Mass General, Brigham & Womens, Tufts Medical Center and other facilities. This eliminates the need for repeat imaging, reducing exposure to patients and saving costs!