Development and Implementation of a Professional Practices Evaluation during Radiopharmaceuticals Administration

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiopharmaceutical Administration
• Quality Improvement in Healthcare

Background:

• Patient and radiopharmaceutical (RP) safety is critical in nuclear medicine (NM).
• RP administration is a key phase in patient management within NM.
• Continuous quality improvement necessitates robust evaluation methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement an evaluation of professional practices (EPPs) methodology for RP injections.
• To identify and correct deviations from best practices in RP administration.
• To enhance the quality and safety of nuclear medicine procedures.

Main Methods:

• Designed a specific audit grid covering 4 main themes for evaluating nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs).
• Conducted an audit campaign involving 9 NMTs, with each audited on 4 RP injections.
• Implemented an improvement action plan based on observed non-conformities.

Main Results:

• The mean total score achieved was 93.36%.
• On average, 7.01% of criteria were unmet and 3.00% were partially met.
• Non-compliance rates in hygiene and radiation protection were noted, leading to targeted reviews.

Conclusions:

• EPPs are effective tools for identifying and rectifying practice deviations in healthcare settings.
• Regular repetition of EPPs, combined with operator training, is crucial for quality assurance.
• The methodology contributes to early detection and correction of issues in RP injection procedures.