Requesting Radiographs

Question 1

What are the official personnel names relevant to diagnostic radiography

Answer 1

Employer
Referrer
Practitioner (IRMER practitioner)
Operator

Question 2

What are the principles of radiation protection

Answer 2

justification
optimisation
dose limitation

Question 3

What are the general principles for justification of an individual exposure

Answer 3

must be justified by practitioner
must show net benefit
must know specific objectives of exposure
what are potential diagnostic and therapeutic benefits to society and to individual
what is the detriment the exposure could cause
what is the efficacy, benefit and risk of available alternative techniques

Question 4

What MUST be done to determine whether a radiograph is necessary

Answer 4

history and clinical examination

Question 5

What is the referrer

Answer 5

registered health care professional who is entitled in accordance with the employer’s procedures to refer individuals for exposure to a practioners

Question 6

What is the required info on trakcare that the referrer must put in

Answer 6

unique ID of px
clinical info to justify exposure - clinical findings and what u want to achieve
information on pregnancy
unique identifying signautre

Question 7

What are the considerations for radiography if someone is pregnant

Answer 7

urgency of exposure
if abdominal and pelvic regions are involved
how patient feels about the radiograph

Question 8

How is risk status decided

Answer 8

social history
medical history
dietary habits
use of fluoride
plaque control 
saliva
clinical evidence

Question 9

How often should radiographs be taken for high risk px for primary and permanent dentition

Answer 9

every 6 months

Question 10

For moderate risk patients how often do you take radiographs for primary and permanent dentition

Answer 10

annually unless risk alters

Question 11

For lowrisk patients with primary dentition when do you take radiographs

Answer 11

every 12-18 months

Question 12

For low risk patients with permanent dentition when do you take radiographs

Answer 12

every 2 years

Question 13

What are GDH&S protocol for radiographs

Answer 13

• All radiographs requested must be selected for the individual patient according to their needs
  Dentate patient must have undergone a caries risk assessment

Question 14

How do you create a request on trakcare

Answer 14

done by clinician
select type of radiograph
then answer clinical questions - relevant fingers and what you need to find out. also if patient needs to go home after attending radiology
use FDI notation - must put teeth to be x-rayed for periodicals as code does not refer to teeth but how many

Question 15

What is an imaging slip

Answer 15

Complete a laminated imaging department slip using a whiteboard or flipchart marker with the patient’s name and CHI no.

Question 16

What does the imaging slip contain

Answer 16

patient details

whether to return to clinic or go home after

Question 17

What do you tell the patient before going to radiology

Answer 17

go to level 3
hand in slip to reception
wait until seen
when done they can leave, tell them where to go

Question 18

What does the practitioner do

Answer 18

authorizes the request, confirming justification in accordance with employer’s written procedures
variety of permitted people do this

Question 19

What is the operator responsible for

Answer 19

responsible for each practical aspect which the operator carries out as well as for any authorization giving pursuant to regulation

Question 20

What does the operator do

Answer 20

take radiographs
annotate images
send to PACS
record findings

first 3 done by radiographer
last is sent to clinic and someone else will be operator for this role

Question 21

What are x-rays on level 6 taken for

Answer 21

endo purposes

Question 22

What should you fill out for a level 6 radiograph

Answer 22

radiology request envelope/form

Question 23

Where do you put clinical findings in radiology request envelope

Answer 23

clinical indications box

Question 24

After doing the radiograph what do you fill out on the radiology request tevelope

Answer 24

write the exposure details in the radiographer’s use only section

fill in the details of the examination in the radiograph exposure log in the x ray room

make sure form is labelled with correct ID label on the front with CHI number

Question 25

What happens after the radiograph is taken

Answer 25

• All radiographic images are digital and available through PACS
  
  • CHI number needed to find patient
  • Carefully assess the relevant images, make notes about your findings and then draft your own report

The agreed report must be written in patient’s notes

Question 26

What is the clinical evaluation report

Answer 26

• Legal requirement report

- Clinical evaluation of the outcome of each exposure must be recorded in accordance with the employer’s procedures

Question 27

Who is responsible for the clinical evaluation report

Answer 27

It is the responsibility of the referrer to record the outcome of the examination so for all dental radiographs it is the true responsibility of the dentist

Complete in the patient’s written notes only