Meeting The Joint Commission’s Dose Incident Identification and External Benchmarking Requirements Using the ACR’s Dose Index Registry

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the potential of using the ACR's Dose Index Registry ® to meet The Joint Commission's requirements to identify incidents in which the radiation dose index from diagnostic CT examinations exceeded the protocol's expected dose index range. Methods In total, 10,970 records in the Dose Index Registry were statistically analyzed to establish both an upper and lower expected dose index for each protocol. All 2015 studies to date were then retrospectively reviewed to identify examinations whose total examination dose index exceeded the protocol's defined upper threshold. Each dose incident was then logged and reviewed per the new Joint Commission requirements. Conclusions Facilities may leverage their participation in the ACR's Dose Index Registry to fully meet The Joint Commission's dose incident identification review and external benchmarking requirements.