About Nuclear Medicine Cardiology Radiation Safety Policy

Nuclear medicine cardiology radiation safety policy dictates that all personnel who operate equipment, dispense and administer radio-pharmaceuticals or execute procedures involving nuclear medicine have board certification from the regulatory agencies that oversee the department. Hospitals and clinics often require their staff to observe additional safety protocols specific to the institution as well as have a defined amount of prerequisite experience and training in basic radionuclide handling procedures.

Requirements

• Nuclear medicine physicians who specialize in cardiology as well as those who work in other areas of nuclear medicine must have certification from the American Board of Nuclear Medicine and the American Board of Radiology. Doctors who specialize in osteopathy must have certification from the American Osteopathic Board of Radiology and American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine. Some institutions, such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center, provide reciprocity for 700 hours of training and experience in radionuclide handling and the use of radioactive materials for medical use.

Exceptions

• Physicians seeking authorization to perform a limited number of procedures in the nuclear medicine cardiology department must have experience in radioisotope handling techniques as they apply to radio-pharmaceuticals. In addition, a practitioner must have supervised classroom, laboratory and clinical experience in radiation physics and instrumentation, practical mathematics in nuclear medicine, radiation biology, radio-pharmaceutical dosage and radiation safety.

Addendums

• On February 9, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a memo stating its intent to limit the amount of radiation exposure from computed tomographic, fluoroscopic and nuclear medicine procedures. The FDA planned to implement these changes through stronger equipment safeguards, personnel training, standardized dosage reporting and patient education.