Säteilylaki uudistui: koko organisaation turvallisuuskulttuuri korostuu potilaan kuvantamisessa

The Finnish radiation legislation was revised in December 2018. The most significant ideological change was the emphasis on the operator's responsibility on maintaining the safety culture and radiation safety, instead of regulatory control. The prerequisite for a good radiation safety culture is an effective cooperation between the referring unit and the unit performing the examination. The referring physician is responsible for the justification of the study, so they must have basic knowledge of referral recommendations, the health effects of radiation, the existence of alternative imaging methods and radiation exposure in the various studies. A good referral contains a clear set of questions, information of the previous and/or present disease and its diagnostic findings. The imaging study is optimized in the performing unit based on information provided in the referral.
The justification and optimization of children's and adolescent's imaging and computed tomography (CT) examinations is of paramount importance, both in terms of the individual radiation exposure and the population exposure. The patient's previous radiation exposure should not be an obstacle to a well-documented diagnostic examination.