2025
Continuing Education
Regulations require that any individual who operates an X-ray machine must maintain continuing education credits in radiology. The course can be any pertaining to radiology, but there are four subject areas that the course must address in order to satisfy regulations:
• radiation safety,
• biological effects of radiation,
• quality assurance and
• quality control.
The frequency of continuing education depends on if a facility performs high-risk or low-risk procedures. Dental diagnostic procedures are considered low-risk.
High-risk procedure: Any radiologic procedure that uses energies of less than 1 million electron volts that could exceed skin doses of 200 rad( 2.0 Gy).
Low-risk procedure: Any radiologic procedure that is not a high-risk procedure.
Continuing education for low-risk procedures shall occur at a minimum of every 4 years. High-risk procedures shall occur at a minimum of every 2 years.
Quality Assurance Programs
X-ray machine registrants are required to have a documented quality assurance program that consists of at minimum) the following:
• Repeat Rate
• Diagnostic Reference Levels
• Image recording
• Processing and Viewing
• Image Quality and Artifacts
• Maintence and Modifications to the Quality Assurance Program
For CT, each study shall be checked, and if artifact is present the registrant shall take corrective action as appropriate.
Records must be maintained for inspection by the Department for 5 years.
Additional information regarding quality assurance programs can be found on DEP’ s website at: http:// www. depgreenport. state. pa. us / elibrary / GetDocument? docId = 1456549 & DocName = MINIMUM % 20 QUALITY % 20ASSURANCE % 20REQUIREMENTS % 20FOR % 20HEALING % 20ARTS % 20 RADIOGRAPHY. PDF % 20 % 20 % 20 % 3cspan % 20style % 3D % 22color: blue % 3b % 22 % 3e % 3c / span % 3e % 20 5 / 21 / 2021.
Department of Environmental Protection regulations for x-rays in the healing arts can be found in 25 Pa. Code § 221.
2025