When Was the Last Time You Reviewed Your MRI Safety Policy?

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On Tuesday afternoon of the AHRA Annual Meeting 2026, Tobias Gilk, MRI safety expert, led an engaging session about MRI safety policy writing. He opened with a case where a facility’s MRI screening form and MRI safety policy were inadequate, leading to an incident with a patient and resulting in a legal case.

Many people would look at a policy writing class and consider promptly running in the other direction, but Mr. Gilk has the ability to break things down in a way that makes it understandable, relevant, and important. His real-world examples, coupled with light humor, made the class a delight.

Mr. Gilk divides MRI safety policies into two main groups: clinical and operational. Clinical policies represent things like patient screening, device clearance, and contrast dosing, while operational policies consider how the department is actually operating: zone access, staffing model, and emergency response.

Writing the Policy: What’s Important?

Mr. Gilk suggested to the group to write policies in a way that could be understood by anyone, even those not working in the radiology department; an “MRI Safety Guide for Dummies,” if you will.

He encouraged the group to be diligent when creating policies and to not take a copy and paste approach. Standard of care documents, such as the ACR Manual for MRI Safety, can and should be referenced when creating a facility’s MRI safety policies, but only if they are relevant to the facility.

The Golden Triangle

During his presentation, Mr. Gilk presented the idea of a Golden Triangle to help check the alignment of a facility’s policies with the standard of care, what they say they will do, and what they actually do. The goal of the triangle is to ensure all areas are in agreement.

Furthermore, Mr. Gilk encouraged the group to frequently review what was actually happening in comparison with what was written to ensure compliance or the need to adjust.

Keeping It Current

Mr. Gilk highlighted the importance of maintaining current MRI safety policies, mentioning they don’t only exist to check a box on a Joint Commission survey. Policies should be reviewed on a pre-defined basis but may need to be reviewed more often if things within the department are changing (for example, adding a higher field magnet or performing a new exam type).

Call to Action

Mr. Gilk wrapped up the session by empowering the group to go out and review their facility’s existing policies. He said we should always be reviewing any legacy policies for accuracy and relevance. We should also pay special attention to exclusive language like “always” and “never.”

Mr. Gilk’s passion for MRI Safety is always evident in his sessions, and he generously stuck around briefly after the session to answer any questions from the group.

As imaging leaders, we owe it to our patients to ensure they are safe when they visit our departments and that our policies help ensure we are consistent in every interaction. Safety is a top priority in any MRI department, so let’s prove it with some policies. Happy policy writing!

Special Thanks to Our Speaker 

Tobias Gilk, MRSO, MRSE
Senior Vice President of Radiology Planning and Founder, Gilk Radiology Consultants