The purpose of this document is to provide guidance from the American College of Radiology regarding institutional policies for chaperone use in sensitive radiologic examinations. This guidance is grounded in the ethical principles outlined by the American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA), Report 07-A-25 (2025), and supported by peer-reviewed literature addressing patient comfort, trust, safety, communication, and professional integrity.
The American College of Radiology encourages practices performing sensitive radiologic examinations to develop institutional policies addressing chaperone use, chaperone qualifications, communication and documentation. Such policies support patient trust, transparency, professional accountability, risk management, and protection of both patients and importantly, also the healthcare professionals involved.
This document is intended as an educational and advisory resource to assist practices in developing policies appropriate to their local clinical settings, patient populations, staffing models, applicable laws and regulations, and available resources. It is not intended to establish inflexible rules, requirements of practice, or a legal standard of care.
For the purposes of this document, sensitive radiologic examinations include examinations that may cause patients to feel physically or emotionally vulnerable, including but not limited to examinations involving exposure or examination of the breasts, genitalia, or rectal region.
A chaperone is a trained healthcare team member who supports the patient during a sensitive radiologic examination. Chaperones should understand examination workflows, professionalism, patient privacy, and confidentiality expectations.
The AMA CEJA Report (2025) addresses the availability of chaperones, documentation practices, and additional safeguards for minors and patients with impaired decision-making capacity.1
Studies across multiple clinical settings demonstrate that patient preferences regarding chaperone use vary based on examination type, cultural background, gender, prior experiences, and individual comfort.2-8 Provider practices also vary considerably in the absence of clear institutional policies.9-11
Radiology presents unique considerations because many sensitive examinations occur without direct physician presence. Practices should develop institutional policies that reflect local clinical settings, applicable laws and regulations, and available resources.
Remote Scanning
Organizations must ensure that remote scanning is performed in a safe manner at the same level as standard scanning with the technologist onsite.
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