3701:1-66-03. Certification of radiation experts

(A) An individual may seek certification from the Ohio department of health as a radiation expert in one or more of the following categories of radiation-generating equipment:

(1) Therapeutic;

(2) Diagnostic other than mammography; or

(3) Mammography.

(B) An individual seeking certification or renewal of certification as a radiation expert shall apply to the department on a form prescribed and provided by the director. The application shall contain at least the following:

(1) Name and address of the applicant;

(2) Category or categories for which application is being made;

(3) A non-refundable check, electronic payment, or money order payable to "treasurer, state of Ohio" for the appropriate certification fee in the amount of one hundred dollars for each category specified in paragraph (A) of this rule;

(4) Evidence that the applicant has appropriate training and qualifications to perform oversight and maintenance of quality assurance programs required by division (A) of section 3748.13 of the Revised Code for the category for which the applicant is applying as set forth in paragraphs (C) to (E) of this rule; and

(5) As applicable, a certified copy of any felony conviction.

(6) Individuals that submit with their applications, proof that they are a service member or veteran, or the spouse or surviving spouse of a service member or veteran will receive priority expedited certification processing. Their applications will be reviewed within five business days of receipt and before all other applications for certification.

(a) The acceptable proof of service member/veteran status documents are:

(i) Department of defense identification card (active, retired, temporary disability retirement list (TDRL));

(ii) DD214 military discharge certificate indicating disposition of discharge;

(iii) Report of separation from the national archives national personnel records center in St. Louis, Missouri; or

(iv) Veterans identification card from the department of veterans affairs.

(b) All acceptable proof documents, except veterans identification card, must show the veteran status as honorable, general, general under honorable conditions, or discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

(C) An applicant for radiation expert certification for the category of therapeutic radiation-generating equipment shall have at least one of the following:

(1) Certification by the "American Board of Radiology" in one of the following:

(a) Therapeutic radiologic physics;

(b) Therapeutic medical physics;

(c) Roentgen-ray and gamma-ray physics;

(d) X-ray and radium physics;

(e) Radiologic physics; or

(2) Certification by the "American Board of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology Physics"; or

(3) Certification by the "Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine in Radiation Oncology Physics"; or

(4) A master's or doctor's degree in physics, medical physics, other physical science, engineering, or applied mathematics from an accredited college or university; and

(a) Have completed a clinical residency applicable to this category from an accredited program, or one year of full time training in medical physics and an additional year of full time work experience under the supervision of a board certified medical physicist who meets the qualifications of paragraph (C)(1), (C)(2) or (C)(3) of this rule at a medical institution. This training and work experience shall be conducted in clinical radiation facilities that provide high-energy external beam radiation therapy with photons and electrons with energies greater than or equal to one MV or one MeV;

(b) The individual shall have performed the applicable tasks listed in rules 3701:1-67-08 and 3701:1-67-09 of the Administrative Code under the supervision of a qualified medical physicist during the year of work experience; and

(c) Obtain certification pursuant to paragraph (C)(1), (C)(2), or (C)(3) of this rule within five years of qualifying under paragraph (C)(4) of this rule.

(D) An applicant for radiation expert certification for the category of diagnostic radiation generating equipment shall have at least one of the following:

(1) Certification by the "American Board of Radiology" in radiologic physics, diagnostic radiologic physics or diagnostic medical physics;

(2) Certification by the "American Board of Medical Physics" in medical physics with a specialty in diagnostic imaging physics;

(3) A master's degree or doctorate from an accredited college or university in physics, biophysics, medical physics, radiological physics or health physics, engineering, or applied mathematics with a minor in physics; and completed a clinical residency applicable to this category from an accredited program, or completed one year of full time training in medical physics and an additional year of full time work experience under the direct supervision of a certified individual as provided in paragraph (D)(1) or (D)(2) of this rule or a radiation expert certified in diagnostic radiation-generating equipment in developing and performing oversight of quality assurance for diagnostic radiation-generating equipment.

(E) An applicant for radiation expert certification for the category of mammography radiation-generating equipment shall have at least one of the following:

(1) Certification by the "American Board of Radiology" in radiologic physics, diagnostic radiologic physics or diagnostic medical physics;

(2) Certification by the "American Board of Medical Physics" with a specialty in diagnostic imaging physics;

(3) A master's degree or higher in a physical science from an accredited college or university, and at least the following:

(a) Twenty semester hours or thirty quarter hours of graduate or undergraduate level physics;

(b) Twenty contact hours of documented specialized training in conducting surveys of mammography facilities; and

(c) Have the experience of conducting surveys of at least ten mammography x-ray units under the direct supervision of a certified individual as provided in paragraph (E)(1) or (E)(2) of this rule or a radiation expert certified in mammography.

(F) The department may return an incomplete application for certification or certification renewal. The applicant shall respond to the director's request for additional information within twenty days of receiving the request.

(G) A certificate issued under this rule shall expire two years after the date of its issuance and may be renewed in accordance with the standard renewal procedures established in Chapter 4745. of the Revised Code. On or before thirty days prior to the expiration of a certificate, the department shall mail a notice and application for renewal to the certificate holder. The certificate holder shall complete the application and return it to the treasurer of state with the certification renewal fee in the form of a check, electronic payment, or money order payable to "treasurer, state of Ohio," in the amount of one hundred dollars for each category specified in paragraph (A) of this rule.

(H) Within sixty days of receiving a complete application for certification or certification renewal, the director shall, pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, either issue a certification or certification renewal or, deny the application, or the director may at any time suspend or revoke a certification if the applicant or certificate holder:

(1) Does not meet the applicable requirements specified in this rule for attaining and maintaining certification as a radiation expert;

(2) Previously had a radiation expert certificate revoked or currently has a certificate suspended pursuant to this paragraph;

(3) Has provided services for a category of radiation-generating equipment that is not identified on his or her radiation expert certificate;

(4) Misrepresents the types of quality assurance programs for which he or she is certified to provide services or otherwise has provided services for which he or she was not certified to provide;

(5) Misrepresents information on the application or has misrepresented an audit report filed with the director pursuant to rule 3701:1-66-04 of the Administrative Code;

(6) Has submitted an audit report to the director that the radiation expert did not personally perform or supervise the individual assisting in the performance of quality assurance tests;

(7) Does not respond to the request for additional information within twenty days of receiving the request as provided in paragraph (F) of this rule;

(8) Does not comply with paragraphs (C) to (E) of this rule, as applicable, in which case the director shall deny the application only for that certification for the affected category of radiation-generating equipment;

(9) Fails to pay any fee assessed in accordance with this rule;

(10) Fails to comply with Chapter 3748. of the Revised Code or the rules adopted thereunder; or

(11) Has any felony conviction that indicates that the individual may pose a risk to public health and safety.

(I) An individual certified as a radiation expert shall immediately notify the director in writing of the following:

(1) If the radiation expert is no longer practicing as a CRE;

(2) A change in the name, address, or phone number of the radiation expert;

(3) A change to the listing of hospitals in which the radiation expert is designated as CRE; and

(4) Any other change that would render an application or certificate no longer accurate.

(J) The individual certified as a radiation expert shall provide the director upon request with any other information regarding the requirements set forth in this rule.

(K) Each certified radiation expert shall obtain continuing education for each certification period in accordance with the following:

(1) Certified radiation experts having certification in one category specified in paragraph (A) of this rule shall obtain fifteen hours of continuing education pertaining to the category of certification;

(2) Certified radiation experts having certification in two categories specified in paragraph (A) of this rule shall obtain twenty hours of continuing education pertaining to one or both categories of certification; and

(3) Certified radiation experts having certification in three categories specified in paragraph (A) of this rule shall obtain twenty-five hours of continuing education pertaining to one or more categories of certification.

(4) Individuals in active military service during the certification renewal period may have the continuing education period extended in accordance with section 5903.12 of the Revised Code.

(L) Continuing education programs are subject to approval by the director.

(M) A certified radiation expert who provides instruction in a continuing education program related to radiation safety is eligible to claim up to five hours of instruction time for the required continuing education for his or her certification period.

(N) In accordance with section 3748.12 of the Revised Code, a certification renewal fee that remains unpaid on the ninety-first day after the original invoice date shall be assessed an additional amount equal to ten per cent of the original fee.

(O) Application for the same certification category may be denied after the expiration date of the previous certification for individuals who do not renew their certification according to this rule, and who do not provide written notification that they no longer require or want certification in that category.

(P) If an individual allows his or her certification to expire and the individual applies for the same certification within one year following the expiration of that certification, the individual shall submit evidence of completing the continuing education requirements provided in this rule.

Effective: 5/1/2018
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 1/5/2018 and 05/01/2023
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3748.04
Rule Amplifies: 3748.01, 3748.02, 3748.04 , 3748.05, 3748.06, 3748.07, 3748.12, 3748.121, 3748.13, 3748.14, 3748.15, 3748.17, 3748.18, 3748.19, 3748.20, 3748.22, 3748.99
Prior Effective Dates: 6/1/1998, 9/7/2001, 12/1/2003, 2/10/2006, 8/1/2011. 5/20/2013