Medical Exposure from Diagnostic Examinations and Procedures of the Swiss Population: 2023 Review

This survey aimed to estimate the radiation exposure of the Swiss population from medical diagnostic procedures performed in 2023. The survey was based on billing data and administratively collected data for radiology and nuclear medicine and on data collection for the frequency of dental examinations. A total of 12.9 million radiological examinations were performed, corresponding to 1,443 examinations per 1,000 inhabitants. The collective effective dose was 1.69 mSv per capita, presenting a 13% increase compared with the dose estimated in 2018. Despite accounting for only 14.4% of the total number of examinations, computed tomography accounted for 75.7% of the total dose. In 2023, 207 CT scans per 1,000 inhabitants were recorded, with an average dose of 1.28 mSv per capita. The highest contribution to the examination frequency (46.5%) was recorded in dentistry, but this accounted for only 0.6% of the total dose (0.01 mSv per capita). The survey resulted in an update of the national data on population dose exposure from medical diagnostic procedures.