Choosing wisely in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.

N uclear medicine and molecular imaging are vital elements of today’s medical practice, adding an additional dimension to diagnoses that can change the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated. However, it is a complicated, fast-evolving specialty that is not necessarily well understood by primary care or even referring physicians. Nuclear medicine procedures are sometimes inappropriately ordered and the results not always well understood. With this in mind, SNMMI is proactively participating in the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation’s Choosing Wisely campaign. The Choosing Wisely campaign is designed to help physicians, patients, and other health care stakeholders think and talk about the best use of health care resources in the United States. By identifying specific tests or procedures that physician specialty societies say are commonly used but not always necessary in their respective fields, the societies aim to stimulate discussion about the need—or lack thereof—for many frequently ordered tests or treatments, many of which are requested by patients. Each society participating in the campaign has developed a list of “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question.” To create its list, SNMMI convened a working group made up of SNMMI leadership; presidents of the SNMMI Brain Imaging, Cardiovascular, General Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Gary L. Dillehay, MD