Recent History
The late 1960s and early 1970s were a tumultuous time for the profession and for ASRT. The explosion in new
technology caused a severe shortage of radiologic technologists nationwide. Once-exotic procedures such as
computed tomography, mammography and sonography were becoming commonplace, and demand soared for personnel
qualified to operate the equipment. Fearing that the shortage would lead to "diploma mills" that churned out
technologists with little formal training, the ASRT began promoting more rigorous educational requirements and
minimum national standards for medical imaging and radiation therapy personnel.
In 1968, ASRT asked the federal government to establish standards regulating the licensure of radiologic
technologists. At the time, the U.S. Public Health Service estimated that there were more than 100,000 operators
of x-ray equipment in the country, but only about 55,000 were certified. The ASRT supported a bill that proposed
standards for the licensure of radiologic technologists. Following the issuance of the standards, states would
have two years either to adopt them or to enact their own, more stringent, standards. In 1970, only four states
licensed radiologic technologists.
The Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety bill, as the proposed legislation was titled, had strong
opponents who exerted significant political pressure. The bill was reintroduced year after year in Congress but
never made it out of committee. As the ASRT continued to fight for passage of the federal bill, it also worked
with the states to enact licensure laws. By 1979, nine states licensed radiologic technologists.
Finally, in 1981, Congress passed the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act. The Secretary of Health
and Human Services was ordered to develop federal standards for the certification of radiologic technologists
and the accreditation of educational programs in the radiologic sciences. The Act also required the federal
government to provide the states with a model statute for licensure. However, the Act made compliance voluntary
and did not impose penalties for states that ignored the standards.
The ASRT regarded enactment of the law a partial victory. In the years following its passage, increasing numbers
of states began licensing radiologic technologists. By 1995, 33 states had enacted licensure laws for
radiographers, 28 licensed radiation therapists and 21 licensed nuclear medicine technologists.
While ASRT was working for regulatory standards on the governmental level, it also was introducing the profession
to the concept of continuing education. In 1975, the ASRT designed a voluntary continuing education program in
which technologists could earn CE points by participating in professional meetings, in-service education and
self-study programs. Although voluntary, response to the CE program was strong. Within a year of its launch,
more than 5,000 radiologic technologists had enrolled — a testament to their eagerness for continuing education.
By the early 1980s, the ASRT was focused on ensuring long-term financial stability for the organization while
expanding its range of benefits and services to members. To do so, the organization recognized that it needed to
leave Chicago. The ASRT's downtown Chicago office was the organization's single largest expense, leaving no
money for investments or for future expansion of the Society.
After a nationwide search, the ASRT chose Albuquerque, N.M., as its new home. Estimating that the Society would
be able to operate for nearly half the cost as in Chicago, it opened its office in Albuquerque in August 1983.
Within four years of relocating, the ASRT went from having almost no savings to having more than $2.5 million in
securities and investments.
In 1985, the ASRT was forced into a licensure battle with the federal government after Health and Human Services
Secretary Margaret M. Heckler proposed that the 1981 Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act be
repealed. She claimed that the main danger of radiation overexposure came from faulty machinery, not from
equipment operators who had never been educated as radiologic technologists. The Department of Health and Human
Services also said it would not issue a model licensure bill to the states, as required by the 1981 Act. In
response, the ASRT filed a civil action against Heckler and her department. The move by ASRT drew widespread
attention, even garnering praise from consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Under pressure from the public, HHS backed
down and agreed to comply with the 1981 Act. In December 1985, the federal agency mailed copies of a model
licensure bill to the governors of all 50 states.
Meanwhile, ASRT membership continued to rise, with a growing number of members practicing in fields other than
radiography. To better represent all its members, the ASRT in 1986 created a new legislative and governing body,
the House of Delegates. The country was divided into 10 regions and the ASRT membership was divided into four
modalities: radiography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy and sonography. Each region sent one delegate
representing each modality to the annual meeting of the House. This system ensured that every modality and every
region had equal representation on issues affecting the radiologic sciences. The House also included two
affiliate delegates elected from each state and city affiliate.
The ASRT further refined the organization of its House of Delegates in 1993 with the adoption of a chapter
system. The organization's 20,000 members were asked to enroll in one of 11 chapters —
cardiovascular-interventional technology, computed tomography, medical dosimetry, education, magnetic resonance,
mammography, management, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, radiography or sonography. Each chapter
was represented in the House by a delegate from each of the ASRT's 10 regions, replacing each region's four
modality delegates. A military chapter was added in 1995, and chapters for bone densitometry and quality
management were added in 1998. The system of representation in the House of Delegates was further refined in
2004, when delegates voted to restructure ASRT's system of governance. Among the changes was the elimination of
the region system for election of chapter delegates, allowing chapter delegates to be elected nationally instead
of regionally.
In 1995, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
(ARRT) made continuing education mandatory as a
condition for the annual renewal of technologists' certifications. The CE requirement had a broad impact on ASRT
and its members. Although the society had offered educational materials through its annual meeting and journals
since its inception in 1920, the CE mandate put the Society under additional pressure to help R.T.s satisfy the
ARRT requirement to earn 24 CE credits every two years. It responded by becoming one of the few organizations
approved by the ARRT to perform all four CE responsibilities: developing, sponsoring and evaluating CE
activities and recording technologists' accumulated CE credits.
As more and more technologists recognized the benefits of belonging to ASRT, membership soared. It climbed from
28,500 in 1994 to 56,000 in 1996 and 70,000 in 1998. One of the efforts that benefited from ASRT's increasing
size and strength was the battle for federal minimum standards. This effort was reinvigorated in 1998, when the
ASRT sought to amend the 1981 Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act to make compliance by the states
mandatory. The ASRT formed a Government Relations Department, launched an exhaustive grass-roots lobbying effort
and built a coalition with other radiologic science organizations to gain support for the issue on Capitol Hill.
The coalition’s work led to the introduction of the Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence bill (CARE bill)
eight times in the House of — in 2000 by Rep. Rick Lazio, R-N.Y.; in 2001 and 2003 by Rep. Heather Wilson,
R-N.M.; in 2005 by Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss.; in 2007 by Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; in 2009 and 2011 by Rep.
John Barrow, D-Ga.; and in 2013 by Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky. The bill also was introduced in the Senate in 2003,
2005, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013 by Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo. It passed the Senate unanimously in December 2006,
but the House adjourned before it could take action on the bill.
When it was reintroduced in both houses of Congress during 2007, the bill had a slightly different name. Although
the acronym was still CARE, it stood for Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging
and Radiation Therapy. In 2014, the ASRT shifted its effort to establish educational and certification standards
from the federal level to the state level.
As the ASRT grew, it placed increasing emphasis on integrating the principles of quality management into all
phases of its operations. The Society launched an extensive quality improvement effort in 1998, committing
itself to planning, controlling and measuring each of its processes and products. The ASRT's efforts were
recognized in 1999 when it received a Piñon Award from Quality New Mexico. The award program criteria evaluate
leadership, strategic planning, customer service, information and analysis, human resources, process management
and business results. It is based on the Baldrige National
Quality Awards administered by the U.S. Department of
Commerce.