Clinical imaging guidelines

Clinical Imaging Requests from Non-medically Qualified Professionals is guidance developed by the Royal College of Nursing in collaboration with the Society and College of Radiographers. It focuses on requests for clinical imaging from non-medically qualified health care professional in relation to The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R). 

For the osteopathic profession, this guidance offers advice on how the requirements set out in the legislation can be met safely and efficiently when requesting clinical imaging.

This relates to standards B1, B2, B3, C1, C3, and D10 of the Osteopathic Practice Standards.

As primary contact practitioners and with osteopathy recognised in England as an Allied Health Profession, osteopaths are equipped with the knowledge and skills to make an informed clinical evaluation of a patient and to justify further diagnostic investigation.

In their role as a referrer, the IR(ME)R requires osteopaths to provide practitioners carrying out the clinical imaging request with sufficient medical data to help ensure that there is appropriate justification for the exposure. Osteopaths are also required to comply with procedures that clinical imaging service providers have put in place to meet their responsibilities under the IR(ME)R.

Osteopaths have a responsibility to ensure that before referring for clinical imaging, they work in partnership with their patient to consider the patient’s welfare and best interests. Patients must be given all the information they need in order for them to make an informed choice about their care.

Requesting clinical imaging tests is thus within the osteopathic scope of practice – osteopaths receive sufficient training at an undergraduate level, to competently assess a patient, recognise contraindications to treatment and formulate an appropriate working diagnosis or rationale for care, enabling them to make informed decisions about the need to refer patients for clinical imaging tests following appropriate referral procedures. Some osteopaths also go on to undertake postgraduate training in this field. It is, however, the professional responsibility of all osteopaths to ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date.