GPs and referring clinicians across Wales and Scotland now have online access to the latest edition of The Royal College of Radiologists' (RCR) iRefer radiology referral guidelines (iRefer8).

NHS Wales has a national licence for iRefer8 – making it available to all NHS professionals in Wales – and NHS Scotland has a similar arrangement for staff across Scotland**.

iRefer8 is the eighth edition of the RCR's iRefer: Making the best use of clinical radiology guidelines and was released in summer 2017.
The guidelines were meticulously researched and developed by more than 300 practising radiologists from around the UK, with the aim of helping clinicians refer patients for the right imaging test, at the right time, while managing exposure to radiation. iRefer8 has more than 280 detailed, condition-specific guidelines, with new features including personalised guidance list creation, improved search functionality and new guidance on asymptomatic patients.

RCR President Dr Nicola Strickland said:

"We are delighted that clinicians across Wales, as well as many in Scotland, now have direct access to the most up-to-date best practice guidance on patient imaging.

"Our rigorously evidence-based guidelines are designed to steer busy imaging clinicians and referrers towards getting the most appropriate and cost-effective tests requested first time. Using iRefer guidance gives clinicians the potential to diagnose earlier, reduce unnecessary testing and streamline referrals; giving patients better, quicker diagnoses with less associated stress and diagnostic radiation risk."

Commenting on the national licence for Welsh clinicians, Dr Sally Lewis, National Clinical Director for Value-Based and Prudent Healthcare at NHS Wales, said:

"Healthcare is increasingly complex and the use of imaging in diagnostic pathways is no exception to this.

"We would like to make it as easy as possible for healthcare professionals to access guidance on when to image and which type of test is most likely to inform the diagnosis.

"By having easy access through iRefer to the recommended diagnostics for each condition, we can ensure a consistent approach, reducing unnecessary tests and improving patient experience through reducing the time to diagnosis."

Commenting on the online access available to practitioners in Scotland, Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director of Healthcare Quality and Strategy at the Scottish Government, said:

"A vital consideration in the protection of patients from the possible adverse effects of the use of ionising radiation in healthcare is to ensure that we obtain optimal diagnostic images while minimising radiation exposure.

"The use of the latest version of iRefer by those clinicians who refer patients for diagnostic imaging, and by those who assess and justify these referrals, will continue to ensure that the imaging procedure used in each case is always that which is in the best interest of the patient."

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