Nuclear Pharmacy Practice
Nuclear pharmacy is defined as a “patient-oriented service that embodies the scientific knowledge and professional judgment required to improve and promote health through the safe and efficacious use of radioactive drugs for diagnosis and therapy.”
Radiopharmaceuticals are drugs that contain a biological moiety and a radioactive element. The biological construct targets a physiological or pathophysiological process of interest, allowing the localization of radiation that, in turn, may be imaged or used to effect therapy. Most radiopharmaceuticals are used in diagnostic medical imaging; however, they are also used in therapeutic applications, such as in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, polycythemia vera, and in the alleviation of bone pain.
Nuclear pharmacy practice entails the following:
- Procurement of radiopharmaceuticals
- Compounding of radiopharmaceuticals
- Performance of routine quality control procedures
- Dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals
- Distribution of radiopharmaceuticals
- Implementation of basic radiation protection procedures and practices
- Consultation with and/or education of the nuclear medicine community, patients, pharmacists, other health professionals, and the general public regarding the following:
- Physical and chemical properties of radiopharmaceuticals
- Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals
- Drug interactions and other factors that alter patterns of distribution
- Monitoring of patient outcomes
- Research and development of radiopharmaceuticals
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