Reimbursement News
CMS solicits comments for use of Sodium Fluoride (NaF-18) for PET bone imaging to identify bone metastasis
Comments Due on or before July 4, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened a reconsideration of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) National Coverage Determination (NCD) for use of sodium fluoride (NaF-18) for PET bone imaging to identify bone metastasis. CMS is asking for evidence based on published peer-reviewed literature and/or other data regarding the utility of F-18 sodium fluoride PET bone imaging in order to reconsider their non-coverage policy for PET bone imaging procedure for bone metastasis.
While this is a positive step forward by CMS, this is NOT a decision by CMS. It is an opening of a 30-day public comment period, scheduled to end on July 4, 2009. CMS will subsequently post a preliminary decision with another 30-day comment period and a final decision 60 days after the end of the second 30-day comment period.
In response to this reopening, the SNM has drafted educational materials to assist you (or your referring physicians) when submitting substantive public comments to CMS. The SNM together with other medical specialties will provide comments to CMS and will post these on the SNM web site.
Submit a comment to CMS
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News in Molecular Imaging
SNM Image of the Year
A PET image depicting how radioimmunotherapy can successfully treat a potentially fatal type of lymphoma has been selected as the 2009 Image of the Year at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting in Toronto.
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Healthcare Reform
Congress members emphasize benefits of medical imaging to President Obama
Fifty-seven members of Congress have written a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama, heralding the benefits of medical imaging and urging him to "consider the value of these life-saving technologies."
The letter specifically mentions x-ray, CT, radiation therapy, diagnostic ultrasound, and nuclear medicine, including PET and MRI, as examples of these technologies. In addition to mentioning the benefits of clinical outcomes, they wrote that medical imaging "often reduces the need for costly medical services and invasive surgical procedures...overall, we know that each $1 spent on imaging services, correlates to approximately $3 in total healthcare savings."
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Educational Opportunities
Taking It to the Streets
Register now to join PETNET Solutions for Taking It to the Streets®, a unique training seminar customized for the PET provider’s marketing personnel. In just four days, this program will enable your personnel to more fully grasp the needs of their oncologists and referring physicians while strengthening the ability to educate referrers about the benefits of PET imaging.
Taking It to the Streets emphasizes appropriate PET and PET•CT utilization and teaches how to deliver a message to clients that will increase awareness, influence adoption, and support appropriate PET and PET•CT utilization. While the content of this seminar is designed specifically around PET and PET•CT imaging, it applies just as effectively to other specialty modalities.
Taking It to the Streets will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee on July 27 through July 30, 2009. For more information, please contact PETNET Solutions at 1-877-4 PETNET (1-877-473-8638) or mi-lifenet@petnetsolutions.com.
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Clinical Studies
Longer scan time, not increased dose, produces better images for the obese
The quality of images acquired from heavier patients can be maintained only by scanning for longer periods of time, not by increasing the dose of an injected radiopharmaceutical, according to research published in the June issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
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