Arizona Senate passes bill to modernize healthcare radiation safety standards

Salus Scientific Corp. applauds Arizona's passage of Senate Bill 1121, which aims to modernize radiation safety standards for healthcare professionals.

The bill establishes a framework that could serve as a model for states across the country.

It recognizes advanced radiation protection systems can provide healthcare workers with protection from ionizing radiation while reducing dependence on traditional lead garments that have been associated with chronic orthopedic strain and workplace injuries.

Arizona acknowledges modernization is needed

As healthcare systems nationwide face growing concerns around clinician burnout, workforce shortages, occupational injuries, and career longevity, Arizona has become one of the first states to formally acknowledge that advancements in radiation protection technology may warrant modernization of workplace safety standards.

"Arizona has demonstrated extraordinary leadership by recognizing that healthcare worker safety should evolve alongside technological innovation," said Dan Lormon, Salus Scientific VP of Global Medical Affairs & Engagement. "For decades, physicians, nurses, technologists, and other healthcare professionals have accepted significant physical burdens as part of their profession. This legislation challenges that assumption and opens the door for a broader national discussion about how we better protect the people who care for patients every day."

Shift from PPE to engineering controls

The legislation reflects a growing shift in healthcare from reliance solely on PPE toward a hierarchy-of-controls approach that prioritizes engineering controls designed to reduce risk at its source.

"This is about far more than lead aprons," said Todd Flohr, Salus Scientific CEO. "It is about preserving careers, reducing occupational injuries, improving workplace wellness, and ensuring that the next generation of healthcare professionals can practice in safer environments. Arizona has taken an important first step, and we believe other states will soon begin evaluating similar approaches."

Salus Scientific encourages evidence-based discussions

Healthcare professionals working in interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, electrophysiology, structural heart interventions, and other fluoroscopy-guided specialties perform millions of procedures annually while being exposed to occupational radiation and the cumulative physical demands of traditional PPE.

Salus Scientific believes Arizona's action creates an opportunity for policymakers, professional societies, hospital systems, and physician leaders across the United States to evaluate how modern radiation protection technologies can be incorporated into future workplace safety standards.

"The conversation around occupational safety is changing," Lormon added. "The goal is no longer simply reducing radiation exposure. The goal is reducing risk. Every healthcare worker deserves access to the safest possible environment, and Arizona has provided a blueprint for how states can begin advancing that vision."

Salus Scientific encourages healthcare leaders, policymakers, and professional organizations nationwide to engage in evidence-based discussions regarding occupational wellness, and the role emerging technologies can play in protecting healthcare professionals while maintaining the highest standards of patient care.