Templates and existing elements and models for implementation of patient exposure tracking

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Growing interest in monitoring patient radiation exposure.
• Need for standardized methods to track cumulative doses.
• Challenges in implementing exposure tracking, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide implementation templates for patient exposure tracking at multiple levels (practice, multi-practice, national, international).
• To offer guidance for integrating tracking in less-resourced countries.
• To facilitate the understanding and utilization of dose information from digital imaging.

Main Methods:

• Development of templates for tracking implementation.
• Inclusion of key elements: patient identifiers, dose quantities, and interpretation of dose figures.
• Consideration of digital imaging, DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) files, structured dose reports, and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) capabilities.

Main Results:

• Templates are provided for practice, multi-practice, national, and international levels of patient exposure tracking.
• Specific guidance is offered for implementation in less-resourced countries.
• Integration with PACS and structured dose reporting is discussed as feasible.

Conclusions:

• The proposed guidance facilitates the implementation of patient exposure tracking at all levels.
• International-level tracking remains a challenge but is addressed by the proposed framework.
• Standardized tracking can improve radiation dose management and patient safety.