Which practice directly supports ALARA by reducing repeats?

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ALARA is best achieved by avoiding unnecessary repeats; when the first image is diagnostic, the patient’s radiation exposure stays as low as reasonably achievable. Using proper exposure factors ensures the image has sufficient quality without being over- or underexposed, which reduces the likelihood that a repeat is needed to obtain acceptable detail. Collimation confines the X-ray beam to the area of interest, lowering patient dose and reducing scatter that can degrade image quality. Shielding protects radiosensitive tissues from stray exposure, further reducing dose. Immobilization helps prevent motion blur that would render an image nondiagnostic and necessitate a repeat. Put together, these practices maximize the chance of getting a good image on the first try, aligning with ALARA. In contrast, simply cranking up exposure to catch every detail raises dose, ignoring patient positioning promotes repeats, and relying on post-processing cannot compensate for initial image quality and may still require re-imaging.