Clinical radiopharmacy: principles and practices

On the average, radiopharmacists spend about 17.2% of their time in clinical activities if their practice setting is in an institution, and about 8.5% of their time if their practice setting is in a centralized nuclear pharmacy. A recent survey of radiopharmacists was conducted to determine: (1) the percentage of time they spend engaged in selected activities, and (2) the specific clinical activities in which they are involved. A few radiopharmacists spend as much as 50% of their time in clinical activities, but most spend only 5% to 20% of their time. Some of the clinical activities involve direct interactions with patients, such as explaining the reasons for administering the radioactive material or actually administering the dose. Other clinical activities are indirect, such as reviewing charts before or after studies and making recommendations to other health care professionals. About half of the pharmacists surveyed see a need for increasing their clinical activities. The need to maximize the time involved in providing pharmaceutical care is discussed and several patient-care activities/responsibilities are proposed.