Paper Summary:

This paper examines how nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that involves the use of radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It looks at how positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is used extensively as diagnostic tool in the U.S. and Europe, but has limited availability in the U.K. It shows how the information obtained from these examinations can differentiate between different organs without the need for the patient to undergo surgical procedures. It also examines how, despite the long history of PET development, the costs and effectiveness of its use in routine clinical practice remain unknown. It reviews the relevant literature to determine whether PET imaging should be used more extensively in the U.K. instead of conventional nuclear medicine imaging.

From the Paper:

"These researchers report that despite the long history of PET development, the costs and effectiveness of its use in routine clinical practice remain virtually unknown. However, what is known is that the bottom line for these and other advances in medical technology is clinician and patient accessibility. According to Michael Johns, "Physicians who do not have access to or choose not to utilize cutting-edge technologies could potentially limit the care provided to their patients. But for many in the developing world, the cost of new equipment and materials continues to be prohibitive. Even in the West, both public and private insurance agencies take into account the cost of a test or therapy before deciding whether to pay for it? (2001, 132)."

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