Nuclear medicine community to promote lower radiopharm doses

Image Wisely, in collaboration with the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), SNMMI's Technologist Section and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, has created online educational materials to help providers use the lowest radiopharmaceutical dose necessary to perform nuclear medicine exams.

“This collaborative initiative illustrates the commitment by those in the medical imaging community to ensure that medical protocols keep pace with advancing technology and that we continue to put patient safety and quality of care above all,” said James A. Brink, MD, co-chair of Image Wisely.

The Image Wisely nuclear medicine initiative urges nuclear medicine providers to:

• Perform nuclear medicine procedures only when clinically indicated;
• Individualize administered doses based on the specific clinical task;
• Employ maneuvers to minimize radiation dose; and
• Familiarize themselves with recommended administered activities.

Image Wisely encourages providers to demonstrate to patients that they image wisely by earning accreditation from the ACR (or equivalent accrediting organization) and by taking the Image Wisely pledge. There are three online pledge options: Pledge as an individual, pledge as a facility or pledge as an association.

This is a collaborative initiative of the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. The four charter members of Image Wisely represent more than 200,000 physicians, radiologic technologists and medical physicists.

Physicians, medical physicists and imaging technologists are encouraged to visit ImageWisely.org to review these materials and use the information in their clinical practice.