Radiation protection – a global view. A new IOMP-IRPA initiative

Abstract

The interdisciplinary nature of radiation protection and its intensive development make it a key discipline in ensuring safety in medicine, while optimizing the diagnostic and therapeutic processes, working environment and delivering benefits for healthcare and the society. Improvements in quality and safety in radiation medicine require a strong radiation safety culture. To better achieve the goal of strengthening radiation safety in healthcare and better protection of the patients from excessive or unnecessary radiation exposure, a concerted effort by all the role players together with the radiologists, referring practitioners, technologists, professional organizations, international bodies and regulators is essentially needed. The International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) have worked together to produce a publication on Radiation Protection in Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology, delivering a global overview and guidance for use in various professional and regional areas, related to radiation protection in medicine.