The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) has published appropriate use criteria for bone scintigraphy in patients with prostate or breast cancer.
The new guidelines are designed to help referring physicians and ordering professionals fulfill requirements for the 2014 Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA). Beginning January 1, 2018, PAMA will require referring physicians to consult AUC developed by a qualified provider-led entity, such as the SNMMI, to ensure cost-effective and appropriate utilization of advanced diagnostic imaging services.
The SNMMI's AUC was developed by a workgroup of representatives from the society, the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, along with assistance from Oregon Health and Science University's Evidence-Based Practice Center.
In addition to the bone scintigraphy appropriate use criteria, the SNMMI is currently developing use guidelines for ventilation/perfusion imaging in pulmonary embolism, hepatobiliary scintigraphy in abdominal pain, FDG-PET restaging of malignant disease, gastrointestinal transit, and PET myocardial perfusion imaging, to name a few clinical applications.
