Medical Physics Practice Guidelines - The AAPM's minimum practice recommendations for medical physicists

S Jeff Shepard,Per H Halvorsen,Maria F Chan,Joann I Prisciandaro

doi:10.1120/jacmp.v14i6.4728

Abstract

This issue's editorial is an invited commentary authored by Maria F. Chan, Joann I. Prisciandaro, S. Jeff Shepard, and Per H. Halvorsen. It discusses an essential question for practicing medical physicists: What are minimum practice standards and recommendations for clinically active medical physicists? The topic is both timely and essential, as the AAPM and JACMP are beginning to publish community practice standards. This editorial sets the framework and focus of these important articles.Michael D. Mills PhD Editor‐in‐Chief

Highlights

AND PROBLEMWhile there is significant volunteer activity by experts to develop technical reference documents (e.g., AAPM Task Group reports), these task groups are not always charged with providing minimum recommendations for safe practice
The AAPM has long advocated a consistent level of medical physics practice, and has published many recommendations and position statements toward that goal, such as Science Council Task Group reports related to calibration and quality assurance, Education Council and Professional Council Task Group reports related to education, training, and peer review, and Board-approved Position Statements related to the Scope of Practice, physicist qualifications, and other aspects of medical physics practice
The AAPM has recently endorsed the development of Medical Physics Practice Guidelines (MPPGs), which may be generated in collaboration with other professional societies

Summary

AND PROBLEM

While there is significant volunteer activity by experts to develop technical reference documents (e.g., AAPM Task Group reports), these task groups are not always charged with providing minimum recommendations for safe practice. Over the past several years, we have seen an increased focus on patient safety and on defining appropriate practice standards in imaging and radiation therapy. While sharing a common goal, the parallel efforts by multiple organizations could potentially lead to a fragmented and conflicting approach to defining appropriate minimum standards for clinical medical physics practice. It is, important that the medical physics profession takes responsibility for ensuring consistent and appropriate practice standards. Over the last several years, we have seen a number of professional organizations develop recommendations for practice guidelines, quality control (QC), and safety standards. In the absence of defining our own medical physics practice guidelines, we run the risk of having practice standards be defined through recommendations from other, nonphysics professional organizations or through wholesale incorporation of technical Task Group reports, which may be inappropriate for some practice environments

PROPOSED SOLUTION

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS