Postponed: 2014 Implementation of New and Revised Diagnostic Imaging Standards
The Joint Commission has postponed the 2014 implementation of the revised diagnostic imaging requirements for hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory care organizations that provide diagnostic imaging services, including those ambulatory care organizations that have already achieved Advanced Diagnostic Imaging certification. The changes were intended to be effective July 1, 2014, with additional changes to be phased in by 2015. Now, the goal is to implement revised standards by July 2015, which will allow for the release of a comprehensive set of requirements, rather than partial sets during 2014 and 2015. When the 2015 requirements are published, it is expected that the majority of the 2014 proposed requirements will be implemented as currently written. A prepublication version of the final requirements will be posted on The Joint Commission’s website six months before the implementation date.
The requirements, published in January 2014, address the risks associated with diagnostic imaging (see the January 2014 Joint Commission Perspectives or the The Joint Commission Requirements web page). Since that time, The Joint Commission received significant feedback from key stakeholders raising concerns about several critical standards and requirements that require further research to ensure that the new standards best promote the improvement of quality and safety. The Joint Commission is collecting additional information about several critical areas of radiation safety, including:
- Documentation of the radiation dose
- Annual equipment performance evaluations by a medical physicist or magnetic resonance scientist
- Minimum qualifications for radiologic technologists who perform computerized tomography (CT) exams.
- Requirements that align with California’s law for organizations performing CT scans
Further updates about these requirements will be published in Perspectives and Joint Commission Online. Questions can be emailed to imagesafety@jointcommission.org.
AAPM will continue to dialogue with the Joint Commission on this. If you have questions, please contact Lynne Fairobent, Senior Manager for Government Relations at lynne@aapm.org.