History

On the occasion of the last Royal Belgian Radiological Society Annual Meeting, on November 16th, 2013, the Belgian radiological community has lived a historical moment.

The Belgian Society of Radiology (BSR) was founded as a merger of the National Union of Radiologists (NUR), the Consilium Radiologicum Belgicum and the Royal Belgian Radiological Society (RBRS). This merger was the successful culmination of a long process in which diverse opinions were reconciled, common objectives were formulated, converging statutes were approved and legal barriers overcome. Sixteen new Board Members have been elected on the same occasion for a mandate of three years.

The Belgian Society of Radiology is a professional organization according to the Belgian Law on Professional Organizations of March 31, 1898. Its goals are to defend, to study, to protect and to foster both the scientific and professionalinterests of all Belgian radiologists. Accordingly, the statutes of the BSR are an efficient synthesis of those of the former RBRS and the former NUR. The merger of both societies has several advantages: it combines a better integration of scientific and professional interests, a better visibility and accessibility of the radiological executives for all stakeholders, and a more efficient and influential representation at the governmental level.

The BSR is meant to be a forum for the elaboration of all issues that influence or impend on the radiological functioning.

For this, several Councils and Working Groups have been established, among which the Scientific Council, which will cover all scientific activities of the former RBRS and will host all former RBRS Scientific Sections, and a PublicRelations Council,which will professionalize the external relations of the Society. Furthermore, Working Groups have been created for several issues such as the potential impact of a fixed rate reimbursement system on radiological services, the role of extramural radiology, the current and future indications of CBCT and its budgetary impact, the health insurance reimbursement of current and future radiological techniques, and the integration of eHealth and electronic data transmission in radiological services.

With this, the long-awaited unique radiological society has now become reality and the first steps in this new era have been taken. The BSR Board meanwhile wants to sincerely thank all Belgian radiologists for their patience, sympathy and support.