HOUSE of DELEGATES REPORT
June 2008

June 13, 2008 6:20 P.M.
Hilton, New Orleans, Louisiana

Overview of the House of Delegates meeting:

• SNM will hold the HOD meeting @ 6:00 pm on the night prior to the start of the Board of Directors meeting again in 2009
• The seat on the AMA House of Delegates is at risk due to being based on membership {must have 250+ to have a seat} Encourage all MD's to join
• PET Center of Excellence goals:
  - Cost effectiveness
  - Research to increase utilization of PET and CT by CMS
  - Survey practice guidelines to insure appropriate utilization of services
  - Educational needs of physicians for standardized reports
• EFR relationship with SNM has been enhanced and renewed
  " Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence has a 5 year plan funded by the $5 million bench to bedside campaign ($4.2 million raised thus far) Website has about 7000 hits per month
• Definition of molecular imaging- visualization, characterization, and measurement of biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels in humans and other living systems
• A public relations agency, Porter - Novelli with Mike Schick VP, has been hired for the rebranding for molecular imaging. We are SNM Advanced Molecular Imaging and Therapy not society of nuclear medicine
• Government relations - DOE funding restored, CMS has imaging on the forefront with bundling as an issue
• World Molecular Imaging Conference will be in Nice, France this summer
• Technologist training must include SPECT/PET CT in all programs by 2010 -curriculum approved
• Technologist entry level BS degree by 2015 - curriculum approved
• Advance practice for Nuclear Medicine will be in place fall of 2008 or spring 2009
• Technologist governance meeting has been consolidated to decrease time prior to the start of the educational meeting
• Travel awards will be given for first time presenters
• Care Bill has all time high of supporters, but this is an election year
• SNM Board has restructured to have four main committees:
  - Radiopharmaceutical
  - Education
  - healthcare practice
  - finance
• Committee on Chapters chaired by Dr. Mike Middleton from SW Chapter goals:
  - work with SNM and ERF to provide updates at chapter annual meetings
  - improve national office and chapter communication
  - identify major issues within the chapters
• The ad for Capitol Hill newsletter has been effective - Bush signed bill for $17.5 million for research in nuclear medicine
• VP Elect, Dominique Delbeke, M.D. was elected
• Dr. Michael Middleton elected Vice-speaker, SNM House of Delegates
• Dr. Jay Harold elected for the Board of Directors nominating committee member
• By-law changes are published in the Journal
• Treasurers Report: SNM on target with budget
• ABNM (American Board of Nuclear Medicine) - maintenance of certification is becoming a reality: there will be re-examination (not once in a lifetime exam) and some states are now in the process of requiring re-exams. This is a board process not initiated by the SNM.
• Capital Campaign "Bench to Bedside"
  - Advocacy: reimbursement and research funding,
  - Outreach: MD's, patient groups, funding agencies, regulators and general public
  - Education: position SNM as central education repository for molecular imaging
  - Research: assist new investigators in the field of molecular imaging
  - Support by corporate pledges with a goal of $5 million; $4.1 raised with $244,000 from individuals
  - A 5 year plan now in place
• The future of SNM is essential for the next 12 months.
• Pediatric Council asked the SNM to support "Image Gently" (radiation dose for peds with CT)

Respectfully submitted,

Deborah Havens, CNMT and Mike Middleton, MD

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