by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | June 22, 2015
From the June 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
HCBN: What are the biggest challenges facing SNMMI members today?
HJ: There are a few major challenges, but also major opportunities. The first I mentioned before, with working to get evidence-based medicine in place. We need it in order to make sure new worthwhile agents being developed eventually make it to the clinic. So that’s something we need to work on, to get them there in a timely manner with the appropriate level of reimbursement. We also need to work to ensure stakeholders know the value of nuclear medicine. All of that falls under the umbrella of sustainability of the field. We need to demonstrate the value and quality and the impact of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to all stakeholders.
HCBN: Are there any recent advancements in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging you’re especially excited about?
HJ: There are a lot of new things almost every day. My own research is in prostate cancer and there are a lot of new agents. I think in a short period of time, we’ll see new things not just in imaging, but in therapy. Theranostics is exciting. PET/MR is exciting. We’re at the beginning of this, but the society is already very much involved. Also exciting are all the new agents for brain, such as amyloid imaging. Although they’re not yet reimbursed by CMS, I think that new pipeline will continue.
HCBN: How do you think the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging field will have changed 10 years from now?
HJ: I feel I have to start by saying it’s always dangerous to predict. But I think the combination of biology, chemistry, physics and the art and science of medicine makes nuclear medicine and molecular imaging among the most exciting fields in medicine. Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging can contribute significantly to diagnostics, but also to targeted therapy. It’s a very interesting field, so making sure everyone knows about the value and place of nuclear medicine will impact where the future goes. I think this value needs to be demonstrated not only to us, but to the referring physicians and patients and their advocates. If all of these things we’re working on happen, I feel the future will be quite bright, because the fundamentals are all there.
Back to HCB News
