"SNM applauds this move by CMS to recognize the value of PET in the co-management of the nation's cancer patients," said Society of Nuclear Medicine President Mathew L. Thakur, Ph.D. "This action will give thousands of cancer patients the benefit of the superior diagnosis and treatment capabilities of this exciting imaging technology," agreed Peter S. Conti, M.D., Ph.D., SNM president-elect and chair of SNM's PET Center of Excellence.
According to CMS, this decision reflects Medicare's emphasis on ensuring that patients receive high-quality, medically necessary care and on developing better evidence needed by linking coverage to the collection of clinical data.
PET is a diagnostic imaging procedure that has the ability to differentiate cancer from normal tissue and may add important information beyond conventional imaging studies in diagnosing and staging cancer and monitoring a patient's progress during treatment. The expansion in PET scan benefits makes this test available to patients when the patient and doctor participate in high-quality clinical studies or submit information to a PET database. This database will be available within the next several months.
This move will also directly impact thousands of SNM physicians and technologists. The creation of a national PET database may lead to reimbursement for the diagnosis, monitoring the effectiveness of treatment, restaging and suspected recurrence of cancers not previously covered, such as cervical, ovarian, pancreatic and te
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Contact: Maryann Verrillo
mverrillo@snm.org
703-708-9000
Society of Nuclear Medicine
31-Jan-2005