Program Information
A New Social Role for Medical Physicists: The Italian Association of Medical Physics (AIFM) Free Web Section "Ilfisicomedicorisponde" to Convey Clear and Scientific Information to Public
S Delle Canne1 , L Bianchi2 , F Ria3*, B Italiano4 , M Stasi5 , (1) AIFM and Fisica Sanitaria - Ospedale San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli, Roma, ITALY (2) AIFM and Fisica Sanitaria - A.S.S.T. della Valle Olona, Busto Arsizio (VA), ITALY (3) AIFM and Clinical Imaging Physics Group, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Duke University Health Systems, Durham, NC, USA (4) woobiweb.com, Milano, ITALY (5) AIFM and SC Fisica Sanitaria - A.O. Ordine Mauriziano, Torino,ITALY
Presentations
SU-I-GPD-T-84 (Sunday, July 30, 2017) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: Evolution in European and American legislations and scientific initiatives, such as IAEA_Rpop, Image Wisely, and Image Gently, are leading to a new multidisciplinary approach in radiology, and to an increase in patient awareness. In this scenario, there is a need of a new social role for medical physicists. This work describes the Italian Association of Medical Physics (AIFM) ‘Ilfisicomedicorisponde' (‘Themedicalphysicistanswers’) project, started in October 2013, with the goal to make medical physicists’ expertise and experience on quality and safety in medical radiation exposure easily available to the public.
Methods: A ‘Ilfisicomedicorisponde’ section has been created in the institutional AIFM website (http://www.fisicamedica.it/). Through the section, patients or healthcare professionals can ask questions related to dose issues, radiation risk, etc. The project team (editorial board) is composed of nine AIFM member groups, each coordinated by two supervisors with consolidated experience in different medical physics fields (radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, NIR, CEM, pregnancy and pediatrics, energy, HTA). FAQs for radiation protection in medicine and environment have been implemented, as well as a forum for open discussion. An email address (ilfisicomedicorisponde@gmail.com) is also available for patients that want to ask question privately.
Results: More than 10,000 (45% related to Wi-Fi field) web visits in the last five months and about 60 (60% related to pregnancy or pediatric exposure, 5-15% other topics) email contacts in the last year have been recorded. For questions related to medical issues (anesthesia, justification, etc.), and environmental issues (electromagnetic fields), to which it is not possible to answer as a medical physicist, a virtuous collaboration with radiologists and environmental experts started.
Conclusion: Ilfisicomedicorisponde project helps to convey clear but scientific information to the public, giving the opportunity to better understand issues that sometimes may be the cause of anxiety and fear due to missing, wrong or superficial information.
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