HIQA launches a public consultation on draft guidelines for the justification of medical radiological procedures on asymptomatic individuals
6 November 2024: Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has launched a public consultation on draft guidelines for the justification of medical radiological procedures on asymptomatic individuals.
Under Irish law, HIQA has been designated as the competent authority for medical exposure to ionising radiation. As such, HIQA must develop guidelines for justifying procedures that involve medical exposure to ionising radiation in people who have no known disease or symptoms and where they are not part of a health screening programme. Justification means making sure that the benefits outweigh the risks involved.
These guidelines apply to any person or organisation conducting medical radiological procedures. This includes individual professionals involved in the provision of medical radiological procedures in dental and medical settings.
Dr Máirín Ryan, HIQA’s Deputy CEO and Director of Health Technology Assessment said: “Ionising radiation is used in both the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Technological developments in ionising radiation have led to improved patient outcomes due to better, faster diagnosis and more effective treatment. However, there are concerns that certain technologies are overused with the potential that, for some individuals, the harms exceed the potential for benefit.
“All medical exposures to ionising radiation carry some risk. One of the main risks is the increased risk of developing cancer for the individual. When considering the use of ionising radiation to support screening and diagnosis of disease, the risks are generally considered to be low; however, other risks to consider include the possible detrimental impact for the individual of misleading or inaccurate results, as well as the healthcare resource use and opportunity cost to the healthcare system for additional investigations.”
HIQA has published these draft guidelines to give members of the public an opportunity to provide feedback on the content. A survey and details of how to take part in the consultation are available on HIQA’s website. The consultation will remain open until 5pm on Wednesday, 18 December 2024.
Following the public consultation, the guidelines will be updated as necessary and published on the HIQA website, together with a statement of outcomes document reflecting feedback received during the consultation.
Read the draft guidelines and take part in the consultation at www.hiqa.ie.
ENDS
Further information:
Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
085 805 5202 / mwhelan@hiqa.ie
Notes to Editor:
HIQA has today published the following document for public consultation:
Draft guidelines for the specific justification of medical radiological procedures on asymptomatic individuals outside of a health screening programme.
‘Justification’ is the process of demonstrating a sufficient net benefit associated with a radiation exposure, taking into account the efficacy and potential benefits of the exposure, the possible risks associated with the exposure, and any alternatives which may be available.
An ‘asymptomatic individual’ is defined as a person with no known disease, signs or symptoms, but who may have risk factors for a disease.
‘Medical exposure’ refers to exposure received as part of an individual’s own medical or dental diagnosis or treatment, and intended to benefit their health.
The European Union Basic Safety Standards for the Protection Against Dangers from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation (Euratom) were initially transposed into Irish law under SI 256 in January 2019. These regulations named HIQA as the competent authority for medical exposure to ionising radiation.
A scoping review was carried out to gather any relevant guidelines, guidance or recommendations available nationally or internationally on the use of medical ionising radiation in asymptomatic individuals for the purpose of the early detection of disease, but not as part of a health screening programme. A number of high-level themes were identified from the literature – these themes were used to underpin the draft guidelines. The scoping review is linked below.
These draft guidelines are currently undergoing a process of stakeholder engagement and may change based on the feedback received. This includes liaising with HIQA’s Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation Expert Advisory Group (EAG) and carrying out a public and targeted consultation. The membership and terms of reference for the EAG are published on the HIQA website.
Related publication links:
Scoping review: here