Medical Physicist New York City

Diagnostic Radiation Physics Services (DRPS) provides medical physics consulting and radiation safety services to healthcare facilities across New York City and the surrounding metropolitan region. New York City encompasses five boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island — spanning New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond Counties, respectively. DRPS extends its coverage to Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), Westchester County, and the broader tri-state metro area. New York City operates under a layered regulatory structure with both city- and state-level radiation oversight, making compliance expertise particularly important for NYC imaging facilities.

Medical Physics Services in New York City

DRPS delivers the full range of diagnostic imaging physics and radiation safety services that New York City facilities require:

Equipment Performance Evaluations (EPEs): Acceptance and annual physics surveys across all diagnostic modalities — general radiography, fluoroscopy, CT, mammography, dental, and more — benchmarked against AAPM Task Group standards and ACR accreditation requirements.
Shielding Design and Certification: Radiation shielding calculations and post-installation verification for new imaging suite construction and renovation in New York City's high-density built environment, including multi-floor and mixed-use facilities.
Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Services: Named RSO consulting for facilities holding radioactive materials licenses, including program administration, regulatory filings with NYSDOH and NYC DOHMH, and staff training.
Accreditation Support: Physics testing, phantom imaging, and documentation preparation for ACR, IAC, RadSite, and Joint Commission accreditation programs.
CT Physics Testing: Comprehensive CT performance evaluations covering dose assessment, image quality parameters, and artifact analysis, aligned with ACR CT accreditation requirements.
PET/CT and Nuclear Medicine Physics: Acceptance testing, annual surveys, and quality assurance support for PET/CT systems and nuclear medicine departments.
Quality Assurance Programs: Structured QA protocols and physicist oversight for diagnostic imaging operations across single-site and multi-site NYC facilities.

New York Radiation Regulations

New York City imaging facilities operate under a dual regulatory framework — both a city-level regulator and the state-level program — that distinguishes NYC from the rest of New York State.

NYC DOHMH Office of Radiological Health (City-Level)

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), Office of Radiological Health independently regulates radiation-producing equipment and radioactive materials within the five boroughs. NYC facilities must obtain a Certificate of Registration (permit) from the NYC DOHMH Office of Radiological Health for each x-ray installation or radiation-producing unit intended for patient diagnosis or treatment. This city-level registration is a requirement separate from — and in addition to — state registration, and must be in place before equipment is placed into clinical use. The Office of Radiological Health also licenses radioactive materials use within New York City under the city's delegated authority.

New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection (State-Level)

New York State operates as an Agreement State — it entered into agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1962 — giving the state authority to regulate radioactive materials at non-reactor facilities. The NYSDOH Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection administers the statewide radiation control program. For facilities within New York City, the city DOHMH has a co-regulatory role alongside the state program; facilities should confirm which permits and licenses apply to their specific use case.

Other Applicable Standards

MQSA: Federal mammography compliance is mandatory for all facilities regardless of city or state registration.
ACR, IAC, RadSite, and Joint Commission: National accreditation programs impose physics testing standards above the regulatory baseline; many NYC payers require accreditation for network participation.

DRPS assists facilities with permit applications, physicist certification letters, and compliance documentation under both the NYC DOHMH and NYSDOH frameworks.

Why New York City Facilities Choose DRPS

NYC's dual city-state regulatory structure adds permitting steps that facilities outside the five boroughs do not face, and the density of major academic systems means accreditation expectations — ACR, Joint Commission, IAC — are consistently enforced. DRPS provides board-certified physicists who understand both the NYC DOHMH permit process and NYSDOH registration, structuring physicist reporting to satisfy both agencies.

Shielding design in New York City involves constraints absent in suburban markets: multi-story buildings, shared structural walls, basement imaging suites, and mixed-use occupancy. DRPS physicists coordinate with architects and construction managers to resolve these challenges within NCRP guidelines, and serve multi-site operators across the boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester through coordinated scheduling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do NYC imaging facilities need both a city permit and a state registration for x-ray equipment? Yes. Facilities in the five boroughs must obtain a Certificate of Registration from the NYC DOHMH Office of Radiological Health in addition to meeting NYSDOH requirements. The city permit requires its own physicist certification documentation. DRPS assists with both processes.

What does the NYC DOHMH Office of Radiological Health require from a physicist? Facilities must work with a medical physicist to submit a quality control test report for all radiation-producing equipment before clinical use (dental, podiatric, and veterinary facilities undergo inspection instead). DRPS prepares these reports as part of equipment acceptance testing.

Is New York State an Agreement State for radioactive materials? Yes — since 1962. Radioactive materials in NYC are regulated jointly by the NYC DOHMH and NYSDOH under the Agreement State framework, not directly by the NRC.

Can DRPS support facilities in Long Island and Westchester County? Yes. DRPS serves Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County. These areas fall under NYSDOH jurisdiction (not NYC DOHMH); DRPS manages the correct regulatory path for each location.

What is involved in shielding design for a New York City imaging suite? NYC shielding design accounts for high-density occupancy above, below, and adjacent — shared walls, basement suites, and mixed-use floors. DRPS performs NCRP-based calculations, coordinates with architects on structural constraints, conducts post-installation verification, and provides signed certification letters for both NYC DOHMH and NYSDOH files.

Related Services

Region: Medical Physicist New York

Other New York cities: Medical Physicist Albany | Medical Physicist Buffalo