Regulatory problems in nuclear medicine

Governmental involvement in the practice of medicine has increased sharply within the past few years. The impact on health care has, for the most part, been in terms of financial interactions between health care facilities and federally funded health services programs. One might say that this type of governmental involvement has indirect impact on the medical and/or technical decisions in the practice of nuclear medicine. In other areas, however, governmental policies and regulations have had a more direct and fundamental impact on nuclear medicine than on any other medical specialty. Without an understanding and acceptance of this situation, the practice of nuclear medicine can be very frustrating. This chapter is thus written in the hope that potential frustration can be reduced or eliminated