[I183] Guidelines for medical physics staffing requirements in diagnistic imaging and radionuclide therapy

Purpose Over the last decades, the rapid technological development of diagnostic and interventional radiology and nuclear medicine has made them major tools of modern medicine. However, at the same time, the involved risks, the growing number of procedures and the increasing complexity of the procedures require competent professional staff to ensure safe and effective patient diagnosis, treatment and management. Medical physicists have been recognized as vital health professionals with important and clear responsibilities related to quality and safety of applications of ionizing radiation in medicine. The aim of the IAEA Human Health Reports No. 15 is to provide guidance on appropriate staffing levels to support medical physics services in medical imaging and radionuclide therapy. Methods The roles and responsibilities of the medical physicist defined in international guidelines are the basis for different elements of the IAEA staffing algorithm. The components of the algorithm include input variables and weighting factors, with the output being the number of medical physicists (FTE) needed to deliver the service. To ensure the general applicability of the algorithm, a survey has been used to test it and obtain feedback from medical physicists throughout the world, representing different regions and different country health care levels. Results The IAEA staffing algorithm calculates the total number of medical physicists required by considering factor which are equipment dependent, patient dependent, radiation protection related, service related, training related and academic teaching and research related. This approach allows the needed flexibility to give appropriate staffing levels over a wide range of facility sizes and local conditions. Advantages of medical physics departments in terms of efficiencies gained are also explained and quantified. Conclusions The IAEA Human Health Reports No. 15 (endorsed by IOMP) contains a comprehensive method for the estimation of the number of medical physicists needed to ensure safe, effective and efficient diagnostic imaging and radionuclide treatment of patients. The algorithm described in this guidance document has been tested under a variety of field conditions. An accompanying spreadsheet is also available to facilitate calculations of the staffing needs following these recommendations.