Scope of Practice for Physicians and Providers - Radiological Technologists

Slide 3- Introduction

Every state has its own rules and regulations when it comes to the scope of practice for physicians and providers. This includes radiological technologists. Recently, it was brought up by the supervisor that there are concerns about whether radiologic technologists can legally administer contrast media under the supervision of a physician. If the state does allow it, does the organization want to invest in training current staff or hire additional personnel? This presentation is going to take a look at the cops of practice information for Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, it will take a look at the variations between the states and will cover if the states allow the radiologic technologist to administer contrast media.

The presentation will also take a look at where to look for clarity when the states are missing it, have recommended action items for the supervisor, and should the organization train or hire new personnel and what does this do to cost.

Slide 4- Indiana

The website for the Indiana Department of Health in Indiana includes the following information regarding scope of practice for radiological technologist: radiology program contact, radiology licensing information, approved radiology programs, laws, and regulations, physicist and inspector information, the medical radiology program information and policies, how to report a complaint, links on radiology organizations and employment opportunities.

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The website includes the contract information for the program, the contact person, a link to the application for a student permit, application for a radiologic technologist, how to renew a license, how to verify a license, the approved radiology programs for licensing, it has all of the state laws and rules, the federal laws and regulations, The information for the physicist and inspector, there is a link to report a complaint on an individual who is not following the rules, reports for the different years on licensing for medical radiological services and a link to employment opportunities with the Indiana State Department of Health (Indiana State Department of Health, 2019).

For a radiological technologist to get licensed in Indiana, they must pay the application fee of sixty dollars. To apply, the must-have completed an approved education program and must also either complete a state-approved examination or get a state-approved certificate in the area in which they wish to be licensed in. All applicants are subject to a background check. The website does not state there is a continuing education requirement for renewal (Indiana State Department of Health, 2019).

Slide 5- IL

The Illinois website that holds the accrediting person in the practice of medical radiation technology contains the following information: policy and scope, definitions, exemptions, application for accreditation, categories of accreditation, examination requirements, approved programs, student-in-training in limited diagnostic radiography, initial issuance of accreditation, duration of accreditation, suspension, revocation and denial of accreditation, fee, requirement for renewal of accreditation, reciprocity, additional requirements for radiographer performing mammography and civil penalties (Illinois Administrative Code , 2019).

For a radiological technologist to get licensed in Illinois, the application fee is a hundred and twenty dollars. To apply, the applicant must past an examination given by the states, and they must have completed an approved program in medical radiology. To renew their license, the applicant must have twenty-four continuing education credits (Illinois Administrative Code, 2019).

Slide 6- Ohio

The website for Ohio holds the following information for licensing of radiation handlers in medical settings: definitions, radiologic license application and renewal procedures, standards for accreditation of education programs and approval of continuing education courses, and licensee authorizations and requirement For a radiological technologist to get licensed in Ohio, there is a sixty-five-dollar license fee. The applicant must show evidence they have completed an education program for the licensed program, they must have evidence of satisfactory competency-based clinical training modules, evidence they have passed the Ohio examination, they must have a background check and they cannot take the examination without proof they have completed an educational program. To renew their license, they must complete twelve continuing education credits (Ohio Department of Health, 2018).

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For a radiological technologist to get licensed in Ohio, there is a sixty-five-dollar license fee. The applicant must show evidence they have completed an education program for the licensed program, they must have evidence of satisfactory competency-based clinical training modules, evidence they have passed the Ohio examination, they must have a background check and they cannot take the examination without proof they have completed an educational program. To renew their license, they must complete twelve continuing education credits (Ohio Department of Health, 2018).

Slide 7- Variations between states

When it comes to variations in the state licensing for radiological technologist., there are a few differences. The first thing is the price to get the license. It ranges from 60 to 120 dollars for a two-year license. All three states require that the applicant complete an approved educational program and pass an exam, however, these approved programs and tests vary from state to state. Ohio is the only state that states a background check is mandatory. Illinois does not mention a background check and Indiana states applicants are subject to a background check. For a radiological technologist to renew their licenses, Ohio requires 12 continuing education credits, Illinois requires 24 continuing education credits, while Indiana has no mention of continuing education credits.

Slide 8---contrast or dye

The question brought up was can radiologic technologist legally administer contrast media or dye, under the supervisor of a physician? For Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, per the rules and regulations provided online by each state, a radiologic technologist can legally administer contrast media as long as a licensed physician is supervising.

Slide 9- Justify Practice Guideline

There are a few places to look when the state guidelines don't provide enough clarity. The first is the American Registry of Radiologic Technologist. They provide a lot of up to date information about radiology and the changes occurring in the field. The website has a lot of educational documents that could be reviewed for information about the practice in question. The second would be the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. This website contains continuing education information, standards, and regulations, and has up to date news, research and publications on the website. The third would be the Radiological Society of North America. This website provides education and research information. It also has journals from others in the field. All three websites provide a lot of information about up to date education and news on radiology. These would all provide resources to justify a decision made where the state's rules are no clarity on what should be done.

Slide 10- Actions items

Due to the rapid increase in the use of medical imaging in the last few decades, there has been a substantial increase in the use of radiological contrast media (Beckett, Moriarity, & Langer, 2015). Since it is now known that radiologist technologists can administer contrast media, to capitalize on this, we need to provide training to all technologists in how to administer contrast media. To show that our technologists have had the training for contrast media, it is recommended that we document all of the training and given competency evaluations before the technologists are allowed to administer. If a technologist does not do the training or the competency evaluations, they cannot administer the contrast media. There will also need to be communications with the physicians on staff that we do know that radiologist technologists can administer the contrast media under the supervision of a physician. They will be expected to supervise when needed. There will need to be training done for these physicians on what is expected of them to do when they are supervising and how to handle different situations that might occur that they will need to handle. While contrast media is considered safe, there is always a chance for an adverse reaction that the physician and radiologist technicians will need to be trained to look out for (Pomara, Pascale, & Maflietta, 2015).

Slide 11- Training-hire-cost

In the action items, it recommends training. It is recommended that we train the current staff we have to administer the contrast dye. The company needs to train all radiologist technologists on how to administer contrast media. For now, we should focus on providing training for all current technologists. We should hold off for now on hiring new personnel. It is cheaper for the company to train current staff on how to administer, and then it is to bring in all new staff and provide training to them. There are a lot of hidden costs included when hiring a new person, which equals more than the cost of additional training to an already established employee (Taylor, 2019).

Slide 12- Conclusion

In conclusion, every state has its scope of practice. While they are different, they also have some similarities as well. In Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, radiologist technologists can all administer contrast media. Due to this, it is recommended for the organization to set up training and regulations to train all current radiologist technologists. This is better for the company to cost-wise versus hiring new staff. The recommendation, for now, is to train all technologists then reevaluate the need for new staff after that.