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The legal implications.
Today reporting radiographers are no longer a new phenomenon within radiology and the NHS. It is a very common sight to see a team of reporting radiographers in almost any hospital. They routinely report on not just plain film radiographs, but a whole range of imaging modalities such as ultrasound, MRI and CT.
What started as an abnormality recognition system (the red dot) introduced in the early 1980s1 has evolved into an integral part of any NHS service. Without which, the increasing demands of a hospital would stretch any radiology department. This frees up the radiologists to take on more complex tasks such as interventional radiology and cross-sectional reporting. This in turn allows radiographers to advance their practice.
However, with radiographers now routinely carrying out tasks once considered the domain of the radiologist, one has to consider how this changes the standing of the radiographer in the world of litigation.
It is recommended that radiographers who develop their role to that of advanced practitioner, should hold professional indemnity insurance. This is to provide the required support if a medico-legal situation arises2. For example, a report made by a radiographer could later be brought up in a court case and the radiographer could then utilise the indemnity insurance for their own protection and support.
With this in mind, we have to consider the risks involved when taking on advanced practice. Protection for different professions can vary wildly, and one could pose the question: If radiographers are being delegated tasks that were traditionally the domain of the radiologist, are we then offered the same legal rights and protection if something goes wrong?
LEGAL STATUS
Pinto and Brunes1 describe malractice as 'when a patient believes that improper medical care has resulted in bodily harm'. This can arise in many different areas in healthcare and specific to reporting radiography, image interpretation, including misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose, are the two biggest contributing factors to malpractice lawsuits. Therefore it is vital that healthcare professionals have some form of legal protection and 'insurance'.
When it comes to the legal protection of radiologists, they are advised by the General Medical Council (GMC) to obtain medical insurance, this then would cover them if any litigation or malpractice...