Bill that would require providers report extravasations of radioactive drugs is back on the House floor
A federal bill that would change how providers report extravasations during nuclear medicine procedures has just been reintroduced to Congress.
The Nuclear Medicine Clarification Act of 2025 (H.R. 2541), which has bipartisan support, was reintroduced to the House on Tuesday, April 2 by Representative Don Davis (D-NC), and original cosponsors Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Ben Cline (R-VA). The bill would require medical providers to report large extravasations of radioactive material to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, defining these incidents as medical events.
This issue has been a topic of debate for decades, as providers currently are not required to report extravasations to the NRC. Although these events are not common, there are concerns about radiation exposure from radioactive drugs being injected into a patient’s tissue, rather than their veins. Patient advocate groups contest that requiring physicians to report the event would reduce the number of incidents that occur in the first place.
In response to the bill’s reintroduction, Patients for Safer Nuclear Medicine (PSNM) expressed contempt for how extravasations are currently handled.
“Shockingly, an NRC policy exempts clinicians from currently reporting an extravasation to the NRC. Even worse, there is no transparency. There is no requirement to tell the patient in question that he or she has been extravasated,” said Mary Ajango, Director of Advocacy for Young Survival Coalition, and spokesperson for PSNM. “If radiation is inadvertently spilled onto a patient, that incident must be reported to NRC – yet if it is accidentally injected into a patient’s tissue, no report is required. This policy makes zero sense and opens the door to lasting patient harm.”
Previously NRC proposed creating reporting processes that address extravasations specifically. However, representatives of PSNM say NRC’s criteria for reporting are too subjective and are not risk informed. They believe the bill would eliminate subjectivity in determining whether an event should be reported.
“This is the classic case of the fox guarding the hen house,” Ajango said. “H.R. 2541 is common-sense legislation that will protect patients. It will supersede the NRC draft rule. It will ensure that the NRC treats extravasations no differently than any other reported exposures.”
Learn more about the proposal here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.