Compliance testing of medical diagnostic x-ray equipment: three years' experience at a major teaching hospital in Western Australia.

Abstract

The impact of a formal compliance testing program has been evaluated three years post-implementation on a major teaching hospital (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital) with 46 x-ray tubes located throughout 37 rooms. The mandatory program, implemented by the statutory authority in January 1997, called for all medical (including chiropractic and dental) equipment used in human diagnosis to be tested at prescribed frequencies using established protocols. The application of the required test methods demonstrated various non-compliance issues. Notices of non-compliance were received for approximately 60% of the equipment in the hospital following the equipment's first annual test. The reasons for, and the significance of, failure varied according to equipment category, test category, equipment use and equipment age. However, at the end of the third year of testing, approximately 75% of the tested x-ray units satisfied the compliance criteria. The main reasons for non-compliance were found to be design limitations of old technology and the current radiation legislation that makes it difficult for some older equipment to meet the relatively stringent criteria.