NRC Policy Guidance for physician authorized users

[Douglas Simpkin <dsimpkin@execpc.com>]

I'd like to thank all of you who responded to my whining yesterday about
not having access to NRC Policy Guidance document PG 3-16, and to those NRC
folks on Radsafe who kindly offered to provide me with this information.
(And no, I never found it on the internet.)

I received it via fax this morning and find bits of it quite interesting.
PG 3-16 (dated 12/12/95) deals mostly with the gory details of acceptable
training and experience for authorized physician users. This guidance is
excellent, and must-reading for medical broad-scope licensees. But the
section I find interesting follows:

------------------------
WHO CAN READ AND INTERPRET DIAGNOSTIC IMAGES AND THE RESULTS OF THERAPEUTIC
PROCEDURES

There is no NRC REQUIREMENT that an authorized user must render an
interpretation of a diagnostic image or results of a therapeutic procedure.
NRC recognizes that the authorized user may or may not be the physician who
interprets such studies. Additionally, NRC regulations do not restrict who
can read and interpret diagnostic scans or the results of therapeutic
procedures involving the administration of byproduct material to
individuals. The images and test results may be made available to any
physician upon request.

Reg. Guide 10.8 rev. 2, page 8, item 7, indicates that the authorized user
retains responsibility for the interpretation of diagnostic images and
results of therapeutic procedures. Item 7 also indicates that this
responsibility may be delegated to a physician who is under the supervision
of an authorized user. The purpose of having the authorized user or
supervised physician retain this responsibility is to ensure that licensed
material is used safely and that the patient receives the intended study or
procedure, and dosage or dose.

In summary, there is no regulatory requirement that an authorized user, or
a physician under the supervision of an authorized user, make an
interpretation of a diagnostic image or therapeutic procedure involving the
administration of byproduct material, but only a recommendation for the
purposes stated above.
--------------------------

Thanks,
Doug

Douglas J. Simpkin, Ph.D., DABR
St. Luke's Medical Center
2900 West Oklahoma Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53215
phone: (414)649-6457
fax: (414)649-5118
email: dsimpkin@execpc.com
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