A backup plan for situations in which the weekend or on-call/afterhours IR team is unavailable as a result of other urgent cases may be necessary. Personnel planning should be flexible to allow for an unexpected increase in urgent referrals.

Access to anesthesiology support should be available when necessary, based on the clinical judgment of the interventional radiologist. Patients with an ASA status of 3 or 4 will typically require an anesthesiology consultation

It is ideal to have at least three non-physician personnel, at least one of which is an RN, available for after-hours/on-call IR cases. In larger centers with a resident or fellow, only two non-physician personnel, at least one of which is an RN, may be sufficient for some on-call procedures.

Safety of the IR team, including the physicians, nurses, and technologists, must be taken into account when planning manpower resources. Adequate rest between cases or workdays is necessary.

Interventional radiologists should have admitting privileges when requested.

There should be adequate space, resources, manpower, and funding to support an IR outpatient and inpatient practice that supports the mission of the parent institution

"As the field [of interventional radiology] continues to offer a widening breadth of treatment options for patients with a broad variety of pathologic conditions, it is crucial to supply IR with adequate capacity for future growth," concluded the authors of the guidelines.

The SIR is a non-profit, professional medical society representing more than 6,100 practicing interventional radiology physicians, scientists and clinical associates.

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