[What are the implications of the new radiation protection ordinance?]

Abstract

The new regulatory basis in Germany for medical radiation protection ("Strahlenschutzverordnung" and "Strahlenschutzgesetz") went into effect on 31 December 2018 and has brought many changes. A system for record keeping and analysis of unintended exposures must be established and the occurrence of significant events must be reported to the competent authority. In the future, medical physics experts have to be consulted for equipment with high doses. Further programs for the early detection of diseases may be considered and approved by the federal office for radiation protection. Changes have been defined for teleradiology, procedure descriptions, tasks of the medical institutions for quality assurance and dose limits. Because of extended requirements for documentation and evaluations, the functionality of a dose management system will practically be necessary in bigger radiology departments or offices. Uncertainties in interpretation still exist for several parts of the regulations. The existing complementing guidelines shall be used for the time being.

Keywords: Dose management system; Early detection of diseases; Incidents; Medical physics experts; Radiation exposure limits.