To meet increasing demand for interventional radiology services, better staffing is needed, according to guidelines released by the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR). The group published its recommendations in the May issue of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.
Lead author Dr. Mark Baerlocher of Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ontario, and colleagues used data from a 2014 survey of SIR members to craft the guidelines. The survey found that interventional radiologists often encounter inadequate radiology staffing, particularly during off-hours (JVIR, May 2016, Vol. 27:5, pp. 618-622).
To address this problem, the organization made the following recommendations:
- Three nonphysician healthcare practitioners (at least one of whom is a registered nurse) should be available to assist the interventional radiologist for every interventional radiology suite in use.
- Interventional radiologists should have access to anesthesia services.
- Nonphysician staff should be trained to assist interventional radiologists to allow for flexible staffing in off-hours.
- Interventional radiologists should have admitting privileges.
"On-call and weekend staffing are particularly important so that stable care can be provided on a 24/7 basis, especially given that off-hours patients are often more critically ill than patients undergoing scheduled procedures during the day," Baerlocher said in a statement released by the group.
