Room 207
Jennifer Elee: Regulatory Implications of Changes in Patient Shielding Practices
Yogesh Thakur: Implementing Change in Patient Shielding Practices – A Canadian Perspective
Quentin Moore: A Technologist’s View of Patient Shielding
Rebecca Milman: Patient Shielding: What’s Next?
It has been over three years since the AAPM issued its position statement recommending that
current science does not support the routine use of patient gonadal and fetal shielding in
medical imaging. In that time, there have been many conversations among stakeholders,
including effects on regulatory compliance, how facilities will develop and implement their own
patient shielding policies and guidelines, and patients’ perception of radiation risk in medical
imaging. Many people and professional organizations have discussed these issues, including
medical and health physicists, radiologic technologists, radiologists, regulators, hospital
administrators, and non-radiology physicians.
This session will briefly review the events of the past three years and will focus on what is yet to
come. This diverse set of speakers will provide information about regulatory implications,
practical issues in implementing changes in patient shielding practices, perspectives of and
challenges for radiologic technologists, and what is next in discussions about patient shielding.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the state regulations and federal recommendations regarding patient
shielding in medical imaging.
2. Learn about challenges and strategies for changing patient shielding policies and
guidelines.
3. Learn about the role radiologic technologists have in implementing clinical changes their
perspectives about patient shielding.
4. Learn about new efforts to evaluate the role of other types of patient shielding.