Diagnostic Radiation Physics Services (DRPS) provides medical physics consulting and radiation safety services to healthcare facilities throughout Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Jacksonville, the principal city of Duval County, is the regional hub for a seven-county Northeast Florida corridor that includes St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Flagler, and Putnam counties. DRPS serves imaging centers, outpatient radiology practices, hospitals, and multi-site health systems across this entire region, from the Atlantic Coast communities of Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach to inland facilities in Green Cove Springs, St. Augustine, and Fernandina Beach.
Medical Physics Services in Jacksonville
DRPS delivers a complete portfolio of diagnostic medical physics services scaled to the needs of imaging facilities in Jacksonville and surrounding Northeast Florida counties.
Equipment Performance Evaluations (EPEs) — Scheduled and on-demand physics testing for general radiography, fluoroscopy, mammography, CT, PET/CT, nuclear medicine, and bone densitometry (DXA). EPE reports document equipment performance against applicable national standards and regulatory requirements, supporting both internal QA programs and external accreditation submissions.
Radiation Shielding Design and Certification — Site-specific shielding calculations for new construction, equipment replacements, and facility renovations. DRPS prepares shielding design reports and post-construction radiation surveys with written certification letters acceptable to the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Control and to facility accreditors.
Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Services — Named RSO services for facilities holding Florida radioactive materials licenses, including program administration, radiation safety committee support, personnel dosimetry oversight, and regulatory correspondence with the Florida Department of Health.
Accreditation Support — Physics testing and documentation for ACR (American College of Radiology), IAC (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission), RadSite, and Joint Commission accreditation programs. DRPS prepares site survey reports, phantom image reviews, and physicist attestations in the formats required by each accrediting body.
CT Physics Testing — Comprehensive CT performance evaluations covering image quality, dose metrics (CTDIvol, DLP), scanner calibration, and protocol review. DRPS supports dose optimization initiatives and fulfills the annual CT physicist survey requirements for ACR CT accreditation.
PET/CT and Nuclear Medicine Physics — Acceptance testing, annual performance evaluations, and radiation safety oversight for PET/CT systems and nuclear medicine departments. Services include source calibration verification, uniformity testing, and support for PET accreditation through the ACR.
Quality Assurance Programs — Structured QA program design, physicist oversight, and technologist training to support ongoing compliance between annual physics visits.
Florida Radiation Regulations
Florida is an NRC Agreement State. The Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC), administers the state radiation control program under the Florida Radiation Protection Act (Chapter 404, Florida Statutes). The BRC licenses radioactive materials users — including hospitals, nuclear medicine facilities, and PET centers — and registers X-ray-producing equipment throughout the state.
Jacksonville facilities must maintain current X-ray registration with the BRC and, if they possess or use radioactive materials, hold an active BRC radioactive materials license. Federal facilities within Jacksonville that fall under NRC jurisdiction directly are an exception to this state licensing requirement.
At the national level, imaging facilities must also comply with FDA/MQSA requirements for mammography, ACR or equivalent accreditation mandates under the Mammography Quality Standards Act, and applicable Joint Commission standards for accredited healthcare organizations.
DRPS maintains working knowledge of BRC inspection requirements and accreditation timelines to help Jacksonville facilities stay ahead of regulatory deadlines.
Why Jacksonville Facilities Choose DRPS
Northeast Florida's healthcare landscape spans a geographically large region. Jacksonville is the largest city by land area in the contiguous United States, and the surrounding counties extend from the Georgia border south toward Flagler County. Facilities in this region need a physics consultant who can provide responsive, consistent support across multiple sites without the logistical gaps that affect out-of-region providers.
DRPS offers board-certified diagnostic medical physicists (DABR) with experience across the full range of diagnostic imaging modalities — from routine radiography to advanced PET/CT. Our consultants understand the BRC regulatory environment, the documentation requirements of ACR and IAC accreditation programs, and the operational realities of imaging facilities ranging from single-site outpatient centers to multi-campus health systems.
For facilities managing accreditation cycles, equipment upgrades, or new construction in the Jacksonville area, DRPS provides clear deliverables — written reports, certification letters, and physicist attestations — that satisfy regulators and accreditors without unnecessary back-and-forth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counties does DRPS serve around Jacksonville? DRPS serves facilities in Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Flagler, and Putnam counties — the full Northeast Florida region centered on Jacksonville.
Does Florida require an annual medical physics survey for CT scanners? Yes. ACR CT accreditation requires an annual medical physics survey. Additionally, Florida BRC regulations require periodic equipment performance evaluations for registered X-ray equipment. DRPS schedules and performs these surveys and delivers written reports meeting both requirements.
What is the difference between X-ray registration and a radioactive materials license in Florida? X-ray machines (including CT, fluoroscopy, and mammography units) are registered with the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Control — registration does not require a license. Radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine and PET imaging) require a separate BRC radioactive materials license, which also includes RSO designation requirements.
Can DRPS serve as the named RSO for our Jacksonville nuclear medicine facility? Yes. DRPS provides named RSO services for facilities holding Florida BRC radioactive materials licenses, including nuclear medicine and PET/CT operations.
What accreditation programs does DRPS support in Jacksonville? DRPS supports ACR accreditation (radiology, mammography, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, PET, ultrasound), IAC accreditation, RadSite accreditation, and Joint Commission standards related to radiation safety and imaging physics.