Which statement best describes QA and QC in radiography?

• A. QA ensures image quality and safety; QC programs monitor equipment performance, calibration, detectors, and processing.
• B. QC ensures patient satisfaction; QA only concerns image storage.
• C. DICOM defines imaging protocols.
• D. Dose optimization is only for pediatric patients.

Answer: (A)

Quality management in radiography involves two parts: QA and QC. QA provides the overall framework to ensure patient safety and consistent image quality, including establishing imaging protocols, safety practices, staff training, and ongoing program review. QC puts that framework into practice with routine checks of equipment and processing to verify performance, such as calibration, accuracy of exposure and timing, detector response, and the processing workflow. In this view, QA is about ensuring the broad standards of safety and image quality, while QC focuses on monitoring and maintaining the actual equipment and processing performance. The described combination—QA ensuring image quality and safety, with QC programs monitoring equipment performance, calibration, detectors, and processing—best reflects how these two components function together. The other statements miss or misplace these roles, confuse QA/QC with data standards like DICOM, or incorrectly limit dose optimization to pediatric patients.