Verivius for Diagnostic Imaging

Verivius v1 ships sector setups for eight sectors today (independent secondary care, dental, adult social care, independent ambulance, Private Clinic, secure patient transport on the ambulance pack, GP, and Diagnostic Imaging), with one more in active build (termination of pregnancy). When an imaging service signs up, the platform behaves the same way it does for any other sector. Same dashboard zones, same evidence loop, same audit trail. The content the platform ships with is what changes for Diagnostic Imaging.

Three things change. The vocabulary on every page (sonographer, radiographer, radiologist, modality, scan, report, incidental finding). The list of incident, complaint and safeguarding categories (unintended ionising radiation exposure, MRI safety event, contrast media reaction, missed fetal anomaly, incidental finding disclosure gap). The assurance calendar pre-populated with the recurring items an imaging service has to evidence (quarterly IR(ME)R compliance review, monthly equipment QA per modality, monthly MRI safety screening audit, quarterly incidental findings follow-up audit, annual radiation dose audit against Diagnostic Reference Levels, annual MRI quench drill).

Modality mix shapes what the assurance calendar looks like for a given tenant. Ultrasound-only practices skip the IR(ME)R items; X-ray + CT sites add them. MRI sites pick up the MRI safety screening + quench drill. Verivius tracks workspace modality mix as configuration and surfaces the relevant subset of items.

An independent Diagnostic Imaging provider sits under more statutory layers than most sectors because radiation + device + clinical regulation converge. Verivius surfaces each layer where it matters, citing the regulation verbatim with the source.

• CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Most independent imaging providers register for "diagnostic and screening procedures".
• Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R 2017). Statutory for any service using ionising radiation (X-ray, CT, mammography, interventional radiology). Defines the referrer/practitioner/operator role split + local rules + Radiation Protection Supervisor + dose optimisation duties. Verivius's assurance calendar pre-loads the quarterly IR(ME)R review.
• Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR 2017). Worker-side radiation protection. Companion to IR(ME)R; one regulates the patient exposure, the other regulates the worker exposure.
• MHRA Yellow Card for device-related events. Particularly weighty on MRI safety incidents (ferromagnetic projectiles into the bore are notifiable).
• Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR). Professional standards for sonographers and radiographers. Code of Conduct underpins sonographer clinical competency tracking.
• Royal College of Radiologists (RCR). Standards for reporting (turnaround time, incidental findings disclosure, contrast media reaction management).
• British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS). Safety statement covering thermal and mechanical bioeffects of ultrasound. Drives the ultrasound safety competency.
• NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (where applicable). Standards for obstetric ultrasound screening including the 12-week and 20-week scans. Relevant for baby scan services performing diagnostic (not keepsake-only) obstetric imaging.

The Diagnostic Imaging sector setup adds categories an imaging service actually sees. Each surfaces the framework panel for that category.

Imaging-specific incidents: unintended ionising radiation exposure (always-required notification to the IR(ME)R duty-holder when exposure significantly greater than intended), MRI safety event (ferromagnetic incident, with MHRA Yellow Card always required), contrast media reaction (mild, moderate, severe), equipment QA failure (modality calibration out of spec), incidental findings disclosure gap (clinically significant finding not communicated to referrer), reporting turnaround breach (report not delivered within local SLA), repeat exposure due to operator or equipment fault.

Sonographer-specific incidents: missed fetal anomaly on obstetric scan, image quality below diagnostic standard, scope limitation not communicated to the referrer.

Complaints: difficulty obtaining report, incidental finding handling, fetal scan results communication (baby-scan service specific, particularly sensitive), repeat exposure with no clinical change in management, sonographer or radiographer manner.

Safeguarding: safeguarding-on-scan disclosure (patient discloses during scan), suspected non-accidental injury identified on imaging (always-required local authority referral with consultant radiologist review).

Provisioning a Diagnostic Imaging service on Verivius will seed the assurance calendar with eleven sector-specific recurring items (per the per-sector training and assurance content spec, authored and pending implementation). Modality mix gates which items appear.

• Monthly: equipment QA per imaging modality (IR(ME)R + manufacturer + IPEM standards); MRI safety screening audit (form completeness); reporting turnaround time audit.
• Quarterly: IR(ME)R compliance review (for sites with ionising radiation); incidental findings follow-up audit; contrast media reaction log review; sonographer clinical audit (sample of reports against SCoR Code of Conduct).
• Annual: patient dose audit against Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL); MRI quench drill (sites with MRI); fire risk assessment review; Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) renewal for all clinical staff (per provider policy, typically 3-yearly).

An inspector who asks "show me your IR(ME)R compliance evidence for the last year" will get it from the quarterly review log. An inspector who asks "how do you ensure incidental findings reach the referrer" will get the quarterly follow-up audit with sampled cases.

The training matrix will layer Diagnostic Imaging-specific competencies on top of the generic healthcare set (BLS, anaphylaxis, sepsis, fire, manual handling, IPC, information governance, equality and diversity, safeguarding adults level 1, safeguarding children level 1, MCA, consent).

Diagnostic Imaging-specific competencies to be tracked per clinical staff member:

• IR(ME)R Practitioner currency (annually; for sites with ionising radiation)
• IR(ME)R Operator currency (annually; for radiographers)
• MRI safety screening and ferromagnetic risk assessment (annually; MRI sites)
• Ultrasound safety, thermal and mechanical bioeffects per BMUS (24-monthly)
• Incidental findings disclosure and follow-up protocol (24-monthly)
• Image quality assurance and equipment QC (annually)
• Contrast media safety and reaction management (24-monthly)
• Sonographer clinical competency, modality and body-system specific (36-monthly)
• Obstetric ultrasound screening, 12-week and 20-week competency (36-monthly; Window to the Womb services)
• Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS) training, for IR(ME)R sites (24-monthly)

IR(ME)R Practitioner and Operator currency renewals fire 60 days before expiry. RPS training is tracked per designated supervisor with the cycle visibility the inspector will sample for.

On a typical independent Diagnostic Imaging inspection, the inspector looks at:

• IR(ME)R local rules + current Radiation Protection Supervisor + the quarterly compliance review (for ionising-radiation sites). Verivius surfaces the quarterly IR(ME)R review from the assurance calendar.
• Equipment QA logs across modalities. Looking for monthly calibration evidence + currency of manufacturer servicing. Verivius surfaces the monthly equipment QA per modality.
• MRI safety screening forms (MRI sites). Looking for form completeness on every patient, particularly the ferromagnetic checks. Verivius surfaces the monthly MRI safety screening audit.
• Sampled reports against SCoR / RCR standards. Looking for clinical quality, scope appropriateness, incidental findings handling. Verivius surfaces the quarterly sonographer clinical audit and the quarterly incidental findings follow-up audit.
• Reporting turnaround time. Looking for compliance with local SLAs, particularly on suspected-cancer or safety-relevant findings. Verivius surfaces the monthly turnaround audit.
• Patient dose data against Diagnostic Reference Levels (ionising-radiation sites). Annual audit; inspector may sample the dose data direct or ask for the audit report. Verivius surfaces the annual DRL audit.
• Safeguarding. Looking for sonographers + radiographers raising concerns surfaced during scan, with clinical radiologist review on suspected non-accidental injury imaging. Verivius's safeguarding lifecycle covers concern to consultant review to referral to outcome.
• Obstetric screening (baby scan services). Looking for competency evidence against NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme + BMUS safety standards. Verivius surfaces both as training-matrix competencies.

None of this is unique to Verivius. These are the questions CQC inspectors ask of every independent imaging provider. The IR(ME)R + MRI safety + incidental findings combination is the most-asked surface; Verivius makes the evidence for each one filter away on a screen.

The Diagnostic Imaging sector setup is live in Verivius v1. The taxonomy (27 imaging-safety, reporting, IG, cross-sector and complaint entries), the training-matrix content (22 competencies including IR(ME)R Practitioner and Operator, IRR 2017 RPS, MRI safety screening, contrast media safety, sonographer scope of practice, FASP obstetric ultrasound) and the assurance calendar (13 recurring items including equipment QA per modality, IR(ME)R local rules review, radiation dose audit against DRLs, MRI quench drill, and image-data IG review) are populated. You can sign up directly and have the imaging content loaded into your account from day one.

Workspace-level modality gating (the `uses_ionising_radiation` and `modalities_offered` flags described in the foundation spec) is not yet wired; sonographer-only practices will see MRI and IR(ME)R entries until the gating ships in v1.x. Each entry inlines its modality scope in the description text, so a sonographer-only practice can mark the modality-specific entries inactive at provisioning time.

If you run an independent sonographer practice, a baby scan service or a private imaging centre and want to take a look before signing up, get in touch using the form below.