North Carolina legislators have proposed a major change that could affect clinics that provide medical imaging or radiation therapy.
N.C. House bill (HB) 590 and Senate Bill (SB) 415, also known as Patient Safety/Med. Imaging/Radiation Therapy, would require licensure for healthcare providers practicing radiologic imaging or radiation therapy, and create a medical imaging and radiation therapy board to administer new licensing provisions and sanctions.
If successful, the legislation will affect limited practice radiographers and radiographers, sonographers, MR technologists, CT imagers, nuclear medicine technologists, radiation therapists, cardiac electrophysiology specialists, cardiac invasive specialists, and radiology assistants.
Licensing is long overdue, according to Lauren Boyles, director of the Wilkes Community College radiography program in Wilkesboro, NC, and Wendy Weaver, advocacy committee chair for the North Carolina Society of Radiologic Technologists, who penned an editorial for the Wilkes Journal-Patriot (updated July 14). North Carolina is one of only five states with no standards or licensing structure for medical imaging or radiation therapy.
Currently, there are approximately 13,000 radiologic technologists in North Carolina. The legislation could become effective January 1, 2026, making practicing without a license a class 1 misdemeanor.
However, current practitioners not registered with a national organization may continue to practice provided they register with the newly created board by October 1, 2026, do not change their scope of practice, complete their continuing education requirement, and practice under the supervision of a physician, according to the proposed legislation.
On June 26, the bill passed a House vote of 180 to zero and has been referred to the state Senate committee on rules and operations.
Track progress at the North Carolina General Assembly website, here.
