Medical Exposure
Another significant part of the population exposure, on reduction of which SÚJB focused its effort, was the medical exposure. This concerns the radiation, to which the persons, who undergo as patients medical examinations with the use of ionizing radiation sources, are exposed. The technique of monitoring and evaluating population exposure from sources applied in medicine is dealt with, as in previous years, mostly in cooperation with the State Institute for Radiation Protection in the field of radio-diagnostics and the Teaching Hospital Olomouc in the field of nuclear medicine. The State Office for Nuclear Safety receives, from the General Health Insurance Company, data files on examinations performed using ionizing radiation sources. Based on this data the Office carries out statistical evaluations that serve to manage the exposure from the medical use of ionizing radiation sources. The SÚJB objective also was to identify health facilities that show such actions. This valuable information may be used to connect this database to the source registry – which is important for the evaluation of doses in radio-diagnostics, as well as to support the inspection activities in the field of the management of medical exposures. With respect to the Act on Protection of Personal Data, the Office had to obtain approval of the health facilities in question. For this purpose, an extensive questionnaire survey was carried out. The majority of the addressed facilities gave their consent. In September 2004 the required data for 2002 was submitted to the SÚJB.
Within the scope of data processing, the cooperation with the Nuclear Medicine Clinic of the Palacký University in Olomouc, which particularly provides the methodology of dose calculation for the field of nuclear medicine, continued. In 2002, the cooperation focused on the processing of the proposal of new reference levels for the nuclear-medical examinations, analysis and check of data prepared for the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) and on the processing of the pilot study in the field of the evaluation of doses of medical personnel depending on the examinations performed was commenced. The study will be completed in 2005.
In the field of X-ray diagnostics, the task is solved aimed at gauging the parameters of the representative samples of the apparatuses, workplaces and examinations. The Office provided a summary of these workplaces together with the types of sources used in order to allow their significant selection, and the frequencies of performed examinations will be provided as needed.
In 2003/2004, the attention was also paid to the analysis of possibilities for acquiring information in the field of radiotherapy. The data of the General Health Insurance Company are analyzed as well as the data, which can be provided directly by the workplaces. In 2004, the questionnaire survey took place directly at the workplaces, which will be evaluated in 2005.
As part of the harmonization of the law of the Czech Republic with the law of the European Union in the field of medical exposure, a number of meetings were held with the Ministry of Health on implementation of the provisions of the Council Directive No. 97/43/EURATOM into the regulations on health service personnel education (Act No. 95/2004 Coll., Act No. 96/2004 Coll. and implementing decrees). High attention was paid to the assessment of the teaching and practical training and placement of radiological physicists that shall be, from January 1, 2007, assured in a higher number not only for the radiotherapy and nuclear medicine departments, but also for radio-diagnostic departments. On request of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic the program of studies at schools for the instruction of other radiological medical fields were continuously reviewed. In connection with the SÚJB gestion for the implementation of the Council Directive No. 97/43/EURATOM, repeated meetings were held between the representatives of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, committees of societies of the Czech Medical Society of J.E. Purkyně – the Radiological Society, Nuclear Medicine Society, the Society of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, the Society of Radiological Laboratory Technicians and Assistants, the General Health Insurance Company and other health service institutions. The representatives of the SÚJB participated in the workshops called by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic in order to coordinate the task “Radiation protection when providing health service". As part of this task four grants of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic were discussed, which are focused on the elaboration and implementation of medical exposure standards, including the methods of determination and evaluation of patients’ doses and the introduction of verification of these procedures by the clinical auditors.
The issue of medical exposure was discussed with the representatives of the health service branch at several expert workshops and special meetings, of which the most important was the meeting of the SÚJB’s Chairperson with the Secretary of Health Service, which was held on June 7, 2004 and which recovered the system of selected employees of both institutes for specified cooperation spheres.
Employees of the State Office for Nuclear Safety are members of expert commissions of the Czech Ministry of Health and the Czech Medical Society of J.E. Purkyně, of which it is necessary to name the Commission for breast tumors screening, the Commission for allocation assessment of select sanitary engineering instruments and the Commission for the assessment of occupational diseases.