January 8, 2010
Nuclear lab accredited at Bloomsburg Hospital
Bloomsburg Hospital nuclear medicine technicians, from left, Diana Good, CNMT, Hillary Spangler, CNMT, and Lisa McGeary, CNMT, stand in front of a Siemens Symbia S gamma camera that is used during nuclear testing. The nuclear laboratory at Bloomsburg Hospital was recently accredited in stress nuclear cardiology studies.
Cardiovascular disease, which includes disorders of the heart and blood vessels, is the leading cause of death in the United States. Physicians are able to detect the presence of cardiovascular disease and other heart issues by conducting a stress nuclear cardiology study.
The nuclear medicine lab at Bloomsburg Hospital recently received accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL). The ICANL has developed an accreditation program that evaluates the training, accuracy and other critical elements of a nuclear cardiology laboratory.
“A stress nuclear cardiology study is an invaluable tool in the detection and subsequent treatment of heart disease,” says Robert Davis, DO, cardiologist at Bloomsburg Hospital. “Accreditations like this one help ensure high quality services and patient care.”
Each year, approximately five and a half million stress nuclear cardiology studies are performed in the United States. The noninvasive procedure evaluates the heart at rest and during exercise using a small amount of radioisotope. Both the pump function and the blood flow of the heart are assessed during the procedure.
Participation in the accreditation process is voluntary. Accreditation status signifies that the facility has been reviewed by an independent agency that recognizes the laboratory's commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease.
The ICANL was established with the support of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, the Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologist Section, the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Nuclear Physicians and the Academy of Molecular Imaging (formerly known as the Institute for Clinical PET). The ICANL provides a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the provision of quality nuclear cardiology and nuclear medicine diagnostic evaluations by a process of voluntary accreditation. A nonprofit organization, the ICANL is dedicated to ensuring high quality patient care and to promoting health care.