News

We are pleased to announce that after a busy period of preparation and consultation, a new version of the “iRefer guidelines” Polish website is launched in a test version available here. Both websites will run simultaneously for three weeks and then the new, an even better suited to users’ needs website, will replace the current website on November 6, 2023.

The new iRefer guidelines website has a refreshed and more transparent appearance. It allows you to take full advantage of the guidelines as a valuable aid for referring physicians and clinicians to select the appropriate imaging test for a specific clinical case, making it easier to find specific clinical cases and appropriate recommendations. The guidelines will be updated on an ongoing basis.

Thanks to NCRPHC renewing its subscription with The Royal College of Radiologists and financing the project by the Ministry of Health, the iRefer guidelines in Poland will continue to be available free of charge and without restrictions to all doctors.

Right Test, First Time

The iRefer guidelines are aimed at all healthcare professionals to help determine the best, safest and most appropriate imaging investigations. They are important tool based on scientific evidence and intended for widely use in everyday hospital practice and in doctor’s offices. The clear layout of the website allows you to quickly find a clinical case. Ensuring that the most appropriate imaging test is conducted at the right time can have a major impact on healthcare provision more widely.

We cordially encourage you to visit the new website: here.

The 14th National Conference “Ionising Radiation in Medicine” PJOMED 2023 was held on May 29-30, 2023. The event was once again held in a modern hybrid format: at the Didactic and Conference Centre of the European Institute in Łódź and online – on a dedicated web platform. All lectures were translated simultaneously, and Conference guests – both those present on-site and those participating remotely – were able to choose the appropriate interpretation channel (English or Polish) and actively participate in discussions and the exchange of experiences and views on the topics discussed.

Honorary Patrons of the event were: the Minister of Health, the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency, the President of the Polish Society of Nuclear Medicine, the President of the Polish Medical Society of Radiology, National Consultant for radiology and diagnostic imaging and National Consultant for nuclear medicine.

The main goal of the PJOMED Conference – an event organized annually by the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care – is to raise awareness of the use of ionising radiation in medicine. This year’s edition of the conference covered the following topics: optimization of patient exposure during therapeutic procedures using ionising radiation performed in interventional radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy; medical exposure based on UNSCEAR report; implementation of clinical audits; news in the iRefer clinical radiology referral guidelines; clinical decision support tools; legal requirements related to the use of ionising radiation and topics related to the quality control of radiology equipment in the context of the in-house experience of laboratories performing QC tests. Two lectures were also given as part of IAEA POL9027 project: “Enhancing the Capabilities of Positron Emission Tomography Departments to Provide High Quality Imaging and Therapies to Promote Safety Culture”.

Among the speakers from other countries who came to Łódź this year were: an expert of the International Atomic Energy Agency John Dickson from the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College Hospital, London [photo left]; Denis Remedios and Yash Chitale from the Royal College of Radiologists, London [photo right]; Martin Kepa from the MedCurrent Corporation, Canada; Mitchell O’Gorman and Marcin Suchomski from the xWave Technologies, Ireland. On the first day of the Conference, a remote lecture was given by Stephen Balter from the Columbia University Medical Center, New York City. The event was also attended by lecturers from Poland, including representatives of the National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw; the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków; the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź; the University Hospital in Kraków; representatives of accredited testing laboratories and the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care.

Dariusz Kluszczyński, Director of the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care gave the opening speech. Then Dariusz Poznański, Director of the Department of Public Health read the letter addressed to the participants of the Conference by the Minister of Health. The introduction speeches were also given by Andrzej Głowacki, President of the National Atomic Energy Agency and col Tadeusz Nierebiński, the General Sanitary Inspector of the Polish Armed Forces.

As every year, the Conference was very popular. We were honored by the presence of, among others: Joanna Kujawa, Head of Division of Environmental Health in the Department of Public Health of the Ministry of Health; Wojciech Skweres, an expert in the same Department; Piotr Korzecki, Director of the Legal Department of National Atomic Energy Agency; Marek Zmyślony, President of the Polish Radiation Research Society; Paweł Kukołowicz, National Consultant for medical physics; the Voivodeship Consultants: Janusz Dąbrowski – for nuclear medicine, Michał Biegała – for medical physics and Piotr Grzelak – for radiology and diagnostic imaging; Małgorzata Widawska, State Sanitary Inspector of the Łódź Voivodeship and Szymon Kostrzewski, Director of the Department of Health and Social Affairs in Łódź City Hall. Also present were representatives of the State Sanitary Inspectorate from all over the country, representatives of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź, representatives of academic units in Łódź, vocational schools and representatives of health care units from all over the country. Invitations to remotely participate in the conference were also accepted by: Leszek Królicki, National Consultant for nuclear medicine; Jerzy Walecki, National Consultant for radiology and diagnostic imaging; Andrzej Kołodziejczyk, President of the Polish Society of Nuclear Medicine; Andrzej Cieszanowski, President of the Polish Medical Society of Radiology; Krzysztof Składowski, National Consultant for radiation oncology; Monika Zakrzewska, the Radiation Hygiene Department at the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.

PJOMED 2023 conference was attended by more than 160 participants, included supervisors who perform and supervise medical radiology procedures, i.e. physicians, medical physicists as well as radiation protection inspectors and employees of accredited laboratories.

The Organising Committee of the 14th National Conference “Ionising Radiation in Medicine” PJOMED 2023 expresses its gratitude to all Conference participants. We are grateful for your interest and positive reception of the event and invite you to the next 2024 edition!