ASRT Practice Standards Quiz

ASRT Practice Standards

• Provide the standard of care, which is defined as what any prudent Radiologic Technologist would do for the patient in the same situation.
• Enforced by Supervisor/Employer/Hospital/ARRT.

Practice Standards

• 13 standards:
  • Assessment
  • Analysis and Determination
  • Education
  • Performance
  • Evaluation
  • Implementation
  • Outcome Measurements
  • Documentation
  • Quality
  • Self-Assessment
  • Collaboration and Collegiality
  • Ethics
  • Research and Innovation and Professional

Healthcare Environment

• Mission, Vision, Values of the organization are critical for high-quality patient care.
• Importance of hospitals: to promote Health, prevent illness, promote wellness, education, and research.
• Healthcare Organization and Elements of Professionalism:
  • Positive attitude
  • Follows the Code of Conduct
  • Arrives at work on time, daily
  • Works well with other people, team player
  • Follows policy of department and hospital, which prevent harm to the patient, department, and employee.

Accreditation

• Independent and not-for-profit organizations that assist hospitals in compliance and patient safety measures for high standard of patient care.
• Examples: TJC (The Joint Commission), DNV (Det Norske Veritas), and GACH
• Accreditation affects hospital reimbursements and ability to maintain daily operations with standards of quality patient care.

Regulatory Agencies

• 6 agencies that provide oversight to the Healthcare system:
  • FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
  • CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  • NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
  • CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
  • AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
  • OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Scope of Practice

• Administer contrast agents enterally and parenterally
• Apply principles of ALARA, minimize exposure to patients, self, and others
• Assist in maintaining medical records and HIPAA policy and procedures
• Corroborate clinical history, documenting correct patient information for Radiologist and Medical records
• Educating other healthcare professionals and students
• Evaluating Images for proper technical quality and ensuring proper identification is documented
• Patient care and assessment

Radiographer Responsibilities

• Perform Radiographic examination
• Perform Patient Care and assessment
• Adhere to Radiation protection guidelines
• Follow Radiographer practice standards set forth by the ARRT/ASRT/HOSPITAL POLICY/STATE LAWS
• Assist the Radiologist or Radiologist Assistant (RA)
• Evaluate radiographic images
• Correctly document as required by policy and procedures of hospital, state, and national practices
• Provide patient and family education
• Demonstrate knowledge and use of contrast media and administration
• Follow established practice standards
• Assist Radiologist in Procedures (UGI, BE, Lumbar Punctures, all radiographs performed)
• Apply Modern principals of Radiography and Radiation exposure (Rad 50)
• Understand and Demonstrate medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology of imaging
• Maintain HIGH level of accuracy in positioning and performing a Radiograph
• Provide DIRECT patient care
• Evaluate equipment errors

X-Ray Discovery and Development

• Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity
• William Watson discovered electrical current
• Michael Faraday introduced the concept of passing electricity through a coil of wire, creating an electromagnetic field
• William Goodspeed created the first radiograph (hand) on February 22, 1890, but did not publish his work
• Sir William Crookes created the vacuum tube (Crookes tube)
• Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and named them "X" because they were unknown
• Roentgen published his report on X-rays in 1895 and received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901
• Thomas Edison developed the fluoroscopy tube (VITASCOPE) around the same time
• In 1972, Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack developed Computed Tomography (CT) scanners
• The latest advancement is Photon CT scanners, which provide high-quality images at a lower dose

Patient Care in Imaging Technology

• Patient care and safety are the top priority in any facility or outpatient setting
• Good patient care helps prevent incidents and liability to the hospital
• The healthcare team includes everyone who works in the hospital, including housekeeping, radiology, respiratory, nursing staff, physicians, and PA's
• The healthcare environment includes the mission, vision, and values of the organization, which are critical for high-quality patient care
• Healthcare organizations have elements of professionalism, such as a positive attitude, following the Code of Conduct, and working well with others

Accreditation and Professional Credentialing

• Accreditation is a process that helps hospitals comply with patient safety measures and maintain high standards of care
• The Joint Commission (TJC), DNV, and other organizations provide accreditation
• Accreditation affects hospital reimbursements and the ability to maintain daily operations with quality patient care
• Professional credentialing organizations include the American College of Radiology (ACR), American Medical Association (AMA), American Hospital Radiology Administrators (AHRA), and others
• The ACR is the gold standard of accreditation and represents radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists

Radiographer Responsibilities

• Perform radiographic examinations
• Provide patient care and assessment
• Adhere to radiation protection guidelines
• Follow radiography practice standards set by the ARRT/ASRT/Hospital Policy/State Laws
• Assist radiologists or radiologist assistants (RA)
• Evaluate radiographic images
• Correctly document as required by policy and procedures of hospital, state, and national practices
• Provide patient and family education
• Demonstrate knowledge and use of contrast media and administration
• Follow established practice standards
• Assist radiologists in procedures (UGI, BE, lumbar punctures, all radiographs performed)
• Apply modern principles of radiography and radiation exposure (Rad 50)
• Understand and demonstrate medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology of imaging
• Maintain a high level of accuracy in positioning and performing radiographs
• Provide direct patient care
• Evaluate equipment errors

ASRT Practice Standards

• Practice standards are necessary to provide a standard of care
• The standard of care is defined as what any prudent radiologic technologist would do for the patient in the same situation
• Supervisors, employers, hospitals, and the ARRT enforce practice standards
• The ASRT practice standards include assessment, analysis and determination, education, performance, evaluation, implementation, outcomes measurement, documentation, quality, self-assessment, collaboration and collegiality, ethics, research, and innovation, and professionalism

Scope of Practice

• Administer contrast agents enterally (by mouth, G tube, J tube, for digestion) and parenterally (outside of the intestine, i.e., intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous injections)
• Apply principles of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) to minimize exposure to patients, self, and others
• Apply safety for patients before, during, and after all patient care exams or interactions
• Assist in maintaining medical records and HIPAA policy and procedures
• Corroborate clinical history, document correct patient information for radiologists and medical records
• Educate other healthcare professionals and students
• Evaluate images for proper technical quality and ensure proper identification is documented
• Evaluate images for proper diagnostic information
• Identify and respond to emergency situations
• Perform ongoing QA and QC of equipment
• Perform venipuncture as prescribed by a physician for specific exams, protocol set by radiologists
• Post-process imaging data

Regulatory Agencies

• FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
• CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
• AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)

Summary

• Review key concepts from Chapter 1, including standard of care, radiographer responsibilities, ASRT practice standards, scope of practice, accreditation, and regulatory agencies