iRad provides radiation program compliance consulting. Our unique service is invaluable for dental, medical and veterinary practitioners who need a guiding hand from experts who:
• Understand state-mandated radiation compliance regulations inside and out.
• Take patient care and overall radiation safety seriously.
• Know what state x-ray inspectors are looking for to ensure compliance and avoid violations and fines.
• Know how to overcome potential/existing violations that can cost your facility thousands of dollars in fines.
• Deliver the most comprehensive results possible with a hands-on and on-site approach.
We are available to help our clients get important routine maintenance on their x-ray equipment. We provide important and required Equipment Performance Evaluations (EPE’s or sometimes referenced as calibration testing) as well as quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) protocols for their unit’s digital acquisition system. iRad is also available to provide professional training programs on radiation safety. We can also arrange for courses to provide CE credits that technicians and doctors require annually.
Any facility that operates a piece of x-ray equipment for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes for patients must ensure the equipment is registered with the state that services are provided in.
Because radiation services are regulated at the state level (for opt-in states), the items that inspectors will review can vary from state to state. Many items, however, such as validating your staff has the proper knowledge of technique charts while administering x-rays are standard across state borders. Proper equipment calibration is also very important to be validated on a regular basis, and most states have very specific cycle periods by which you must have an EPE (Equipment Performance Evaluation) performed on each of your generators. There are numerous important details that registrants must be aware of and tasks to keep up with. Violations and fines can be significant ranging from simple warnings being issued to full legal cease and desist orders applied to practices.
Most small-medium sized medical clinics cannot staff full-time radiation compliance staff however they also do not typically have any extra bandwidth to spend hours trying to validate whether their clinic is operating in a fully compliant manner and keep up with any changes to procedures and rules. This is where iRad’s value to clinics is rapidly realized. Our clients swiftly find that iRad demonstrates command and control over all state rules and regulations, and our experts utilize that knowledge from the moment they step into your facility working diligently to ensure full radiation compliance is established.
Electing to partner with iRad Consulting allows you to rest easy and retain focus on patient care while we focus on your facility’s x-ray and laser compliance protocols. iRad’s hands-on client-focused services are unique; Our consultants take care of EVERYTHING for you which has been very much appreciated by our clients as opposed to being given an empty binder with pages of checklists and to-dos to try and figure out on your own. Our on-site consulting includes (but not limited to):
Radiation Records Management
• Review existing documentation, suggest edits as needed
• Implement any missing required documentation
• Organize everything neatly in a professional radiation records binder for easy access
Facility X-Ray Compliance
• Consult on x-ray room layout
• Ensure all state regulatory items are in place
• Provide any necessary signage that may be missing
Facility X-Ray Compliance
• Look for ways to minimize facility staff radiation doses, including staff positioning
• Review patient technique charts to ensure doses are within allowable limits
• Consult on any other key requirements state inspectors look for
Quality Assurance/Quality Control Image Processing Systems
• Implement protocols for digital acquisition systems
• Train staff on how to use protocols
• Ensure QA and QC protocols are thorough and contain state regulatory required items
• Provide QA Phantoms
Violation Remediation
• Work to correct existing violations for facilities who already have formal compliance issues
• Ensure facility is exercising necessary measures to improve patient and staff safety
Think of our services as a mock inspection preparing you for that visit from the state. We want you to feel like by having us come in and get everything compliant, your stress is eliminated. This way, when a state inspector shows up unannounced – per the state’s new protocol – you can hand them your radiation binder and feel confident as they conduct their inspection throughout your entire facility. A pleasant residual product of our service is typically a reduced period of time with the state inspector.
– Drs. Grant and Mark Smith
Sherman, TX