AAPM Newsletter | November/December 2021 Vo l u m e 4 6 , N o . 6
SO, WHAT ARE MPPGs AND WHY SHOULD I BE AWARE OF THEM? SUBCOMMITTEE ON PRACTICE GUIDELINES REPORT Daniel C. Pavord, MS | Allegheny General Hospital Arthur J. Olch, PhD | Children's Hospital of LA M a r y A . K e e n a n , D M P | Va n d e r b i l t U n i v e r s i t y M e d i c a l C e n t e r
Email: dan.pavord@gmail.com aolch@chla.usc.edu mary.a.emmons@vanderbilt.edu
AAPM Subcommittee on Practice Guidelines Members: Muthana S.A. L. Al-Ghazi, PhD D. Pavord, Subcommittee Chair
A. Olch, Subcommittee Vice Chair
M. Keenan, Subcommittee Vice Chair
Nathan C. Busse, MS Leigh A. Conroy, PhD Ryan F. Fisher, PhD Jonas D. Fontenot, PhD
A concise description is found on the MPPG web page: “MPPGs are intended to provide the medical community with a clear description of the minimum level of medical physics support that AAPM would consider to be prudent in all clinical practice settings. Support includes but is not limited to staffing, equipment, machine access, and training. These MPPGs are not designed to replace extensive Task Group reports or review articles, but rather to describe the recommended minimum level of medical physics support for specific clinical services.” AAPM has made a clear and intentional policy decision that the MPPG is the document that we would like to see accrediting bodies and government agencies adopt in their guidelines and/or regulations. To this end we would like to see all medical physicists strive to adopt these guidelines. When you interact with hospital administrators, regulators, or accreditation surveyors, please take the time to mention that you follow AAPM MPPGs and to educate them if they are unfamiliar. Encouraging and monitoring the adoption of MPPGs by other organizations is one of the priorities of the Subcommittee on Practice Guidelines (SPG).
Mark W. Geurts, MS Eric L. Gingold, PhD Per H. Halvorsen, MS Robert F. Krauss, DMP Susan L. Richardson, PhD John M. Wait, MS
The development of MPPGs is the responsibility of SPG. The SPG is embarking on a publicity campaign to help spread this message. This article is one part of that. Increased use of social media is another area that we are targeting. You can help by sharing our posts. MPPG topics are chosen in a variety of ways. There is an AAPM BBS devoted to MPPG ideas that we routinely monitor. There is an increasing trend to develop MPPGs as companions to TG reports. In fact, this process is being formalized through an ad hoc committee. In addition, the SPG surveys what current guidance is available and tries to determine what topics would best serve the membership by looking for gaps or outdated documents. So, if you have an www.aapm.org | 55