St. Mary’s Hospital (SMH) recently received accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR) for its Nuclear Medicine services. The hospital received the three-year accreditation with no follow-up requirements or questions.
“This means that SMH has achieved ACR accreditation in every Imaging modality,” said Vice President Joan Gelrud. “This accomplishment can help our community feel comfortable and safe with the quality of our Imaging care, as determined by a team of esteemed clinicians and physicians who judge hospitals across the country.”
Participation in an ACR review is voluntary. The program evaluates the facility where services are provided; qualifications of supervisory and interpreting physicians, medical physicists and nuclear medicine technologists; image quality; and all quality control procedures. In addition to meeting the criteria set by ACR, facilities must also be in compliance with the requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or appropriate State regulatory agencies in order to receive the ACR accreditation.
Nuclear medicine uses cost-effective techniques to view the body and treat disease painlessly, without anesthesia. These procedures are also among the safest diagnostic imaging tests available and use an amount of radiation comparable to that received during an X-ray. Used to identify abnormalities early in the progression of a disease, nuclear medicine can identify potential problems long before other diagnostic tests.
St. Mary’s Hospital offers the latest in nuclear medicine technology, including the high performance “E.Cam” system to offer patients and healthcare professionals optimum versatility, accuracy and image quality. Unlike diagnostic radiology, this unique method of imaging is able to document the function and structure of virtually every major organ system. It gathers medical information otherwise unavailable without surgery or more expensive diagnostic tests.
Nuclear medicine is commonly used for diagnostic purposes, but can provide valuable treatments for conditions such as hyperthyroidism (Grave’s Disease), thyroid cancer, blood imbalances and pain from certain types of bone cancer. In addition, it can be helpful during cardiac stress tests to analyze heart function, bone scans for orthopedic injuries, lung scans for blood clots and liver and gall bladder procedures to diagnose abnormal function or blockage.
The Bay Net