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Have
you ever wondered how your accredited nuclear medicine laboratory
compares with over 750 other laboratories with approximately
1,100 sites currently accredited by the ICANL? A primary
philosophy held by the ICANL Board of Directors has always been
that the ability for a nuclear medicine laboratory to become
accredited should be inclusive as opposed to exclusive. The
intent of this philosophy is that the Standards and application
requirements include such a broad scope that a private practice
laboratory located in a rural setting would have as much opportunity
to achieve accreditation as a larger laboratory located in an
academic institution.
The
ICANL is sponsored by a variety of professional organizations
representing cardiology (American College of Cardiology), nuclear
cardiology (American Society of Nuclear Cardiology), general
nuclear medicine and radiology (Society of Nuclear Medicine),
nuclear medicine technology (Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Section), and PET/molecular imaging (Academy of Molecular Imaging).
Appointed individuals representing the various sponsoring organizations
make up the ICANL Board of Directors. Not only are the various
specialty fields associated with nuclear medicine testing represented,
the individuals making up the Board of Directors come from a
diverse scope of nuclear medicine laboratory venues as well,
ranging from privately run office-based laboratories to university
hospital settings.
The
following statistics feature information gathered from ICANL
accreditation applications as of February 2007. You will find
that these statistics reflect this multidisciplinary and inclusive
approach to the accreditation process, and provide you with
an idea of the likenesses and differences your own personal
lab possesses in comparison to other accredited laboratories.
THE WHO
Over the past three years, 60% of the
laboratories applied for the first time, 32% of the laboratories
are seeking accreditation for the 2nd cycle, and 8% are
entering their third cycle of accreditation (figure
1). Accreditation through the ICANL was first offered
in 1998 to nuclear cardiology laboratories and in 2000
to nuclear medicine and PET laboratories, making it possible
for some of the very first laboratories achieving ICANL
accreditation to be accredited for the third time.
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figure
1. |
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Medical Director and Medical
Staff
The Medical Directors and Medical Staff
members in accredited laboratories have experience and
training in a variety of specialty areas. All physicians
in accredited laboratories meet at least one of the training
and experience requirements listed in the ICANL Standards.
All Medical Directors in accredited Nuclear Medicine laboratories
are authorized users on the radioactive material license
issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or their own
Agreement State.
MEDICAL DIRECTOR SPECIALTY:
- Cardiology - 82.6%
- Nuclear Medicine - 8.6%
- Radiology - 4.2%
- Other - 1.1%
MEDICAL STAFF SPECIALTY:
- Cardiology - 86.1%
- Nuclear Medicine - 3.9%
- Radiology - 9.8%
- Other - 0.2%
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figure
2. |
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Technical Director and
Technical Staff
The average number of nuclear medicine
technical staff members in an accredited laboratory is
3.
All accredited laboratories must have
a technical director who is responsible for overseeing
the technical staff and the day-to-day operations of the
nuclear medicine department. All nuclear medicine technical
staff are required to be credentialed by the American
Registry of Radiologic Technology in nuclear medicine
[RT(N)], the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification
Board [CNMT], or be State-Licensed in nuclear medicine
technology. In addition, all nuclear medicine technologists
in accredited laboratories must hold current certification
in basic life support (BLS). All Nuclear Medicine staff
in accredited laboratories must maintain a minimum of
15 continuing education credits every three years in their
area of specialty: physicians must have 15 AMA Category
I CME credit hours in nuclear cardiology, general nuclear
medicine and/or PET; technologists must have 15 CEU credit
hours recognized by SNM VOICE and/or ARRT in nuclear medicine
technology.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR CREDENTIALS: Of the
total number of Technical Directors, 94.5% are credentialed.
- CNMT - 78.1%
- RT(N) - 50%
- State Licensed - 7.7%
TECHNICAL STAFF CREDENTIALS: Of the total
number of Technical Staff, 92.1% are credentialed.
- CNMT - 79.5%
- RT(N) - 40.5%
- State Licensed - 7.2%
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figure
3. |
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