Trends in radiation protection of medical workers

Medical workers constitute the largest group of individuals occupationally exposed to radiation, and their collective dose equivalent is exceeded only by persons employed in the nuclear fuel cycle. Although medical workers have increased in number by about 50% over the past two decades, their collective dose has steadily declined. Factors that contribute to changes in the exposure patterns of medical workers include variations in demand for medical imaging procedures, changes in the way these procedures are administered to patients, and development of devices that utilize radiation more efficiently and display radiation-derived information more effectively. Trends such as the movement of imaging procedures into nonradiologic disciplines and nonhospital settings, and the imposition of economic and legal considerations into decisions about patient management and health care, may also ultimately affect the exposure of medical workers to radiation.