Legal and ethical issues in medic...( July 17 2008 -- The legal and ethical...),Health

July 17, 2008 -- The legal and ethical issues facing medical physicists are numerous and complex -- perhaps more so than some other areas of medicine. Certain activities, such as handling radioactive materials, are highly regulated by the federal and state governments. Other activities, such as minimum education and training standards and licensure requirements vary from state to state.

A number of distinguished speakers will help dissect these ethical and regulatory issues at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) 50th meeting in Houston, Texas from July 27 to July 31. AAPM is the largest association of medical physicists in the world, composed of both research medical physicists who develop cutting-edge technologies in the laboratory and clinical medical physicists who use these technologies in hospitals and clinics. AAPM works to ensure that there are minimum educational standards for individuals who practice in any of the medical physics subspecialties.

AAPM is also committed to educating medical physicists and helping them understand the legal and ethical nuances of their profession. This news release describes some of these nuances.

Journalists are invited to cover the AAPM meeting remotely or in person. In the coming week, additional news releases detailing specific scientific highlights of the meeting will be available. All news releases will be hosted on the AAPM Virtual Press Room (see link at the end).

PRELIMINARY HIGHLIGHTS OF MEETING

1) How Technology Contributes to Healthcare Woes
2) Legal Issues: What Every Medical Physicist Should Know
3) More Legal Issues: Liability and Regulation
4) New Guidelines for Ethical Behavior in Medical Physics
5) Professional Training: Are Medical Physicists Prepared for Workplace Politics?
6) The Image Gently™ Campaign

1) HOW TECHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTES TO HEALTHCARE WOES

Physics-based technology has bene
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