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Dose documentation and archiving of digital image and examination data in radiology and nuclear medicine

Recommendation by the German Commission on Radiological Protection

Adopted at the 282nd meeting of the SSK on 23/24 June 2016

Abstract

A number of changes to the requirements placed on dose documentation and the archiving of digital image and examination data have arisen due to the transition from analogue to digital imaging, the stipulation of the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard in medicine, and the necessary implementation of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of the 5th of December 2013. This recommendation puts forward uniform minimum standards to ensure future documentation of all the DICOM standard-compliant data provided by the device and required to record and analyse patient exposures. At the very least, all imaging and examination data of relevance to the medical findings are to be archived to ensure transparency of the findings, to avoid any unnecessary examinations, and to evaluate the progress of an illness. Detailed archiving recommendations are provided for the various individual areas of application.
Among other things, when performing X-ray examinations and examinations involving open radioactive substances, the SSK recommends the introduction of a duty of documentation for dose records of at least 30 years in order to be able to create patient-related dose histories.