Procedure guideline for telenuclear medicine 1.0.

Telenuclear medicine refers to nuclear medicine interpretation or consultation at a location distant from that at which the data are acquired. There is a continuum of separation between the physical location of the acquisition and interpretation, but telenuclear medicine is meant to imply that the interpretation is relatively remote as compared with the typical interpretation. Because telenuclear medicine may allow more timely interpretation and facilitate consultation, it can provide improved health care. For example, it may enable increased availability of nuclear medicine in underserved areas. New uses for this evolving technology are likely to emerge. Telenuclear medicine equipment is used to implement telenuclear medicine. The same equipment may be used for both on-site and telenuclear medicine. This guideline will focus on special considerations when nuclear medicine equipment is used at remote locations. Distribution of images in a single imaging center falls into the realm of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and is not the major focus of this document.