AANMS

About AANMS

The AANMS  (Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists ) is the peak body representing nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in Australia and New Zealand.  The Association was formerly known as the Australian and New Zealand Association of Physicians in Nuclear Medicine (ANZAPNM).

Ordinary Members of the AANMS must be actively practising nuclear medicine, and must be Fellows of either the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) or the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

The AANMS has a range of objectives that include: promotion and advancement of the practice of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, the development and delivery of practice and training site accreditation programs, research coordination, training and CPD program development, trainee support, referrer education, representation of the specialty at Commonwealth and State levels and close involvement in all matters concerning the sustainability of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, including liaison with a range of organisations such as ANSTO and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM). 

In supporting quality nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, the AANMS's members follow a Code of Conduct.

The AANMS is a not-for-profit organisation and is governed by a Council that is elected biannually by the membership.

REMINDER FOR NUCLEAR MEDICINE SPECIALISTS:  PET TRAINING

Nuclear medicine specialists who intend to do training in positron emission tomography (PET) must ensure that they submit an application for prospective approval of their PET training to the Joint Specialist Advisory Committee (JSAC) of the RACP and the RANZCR.

All PET training must be prospectively approved by the JSAC in order for this training to be accredited.  Following completion of accredited PET training, the nuclear medicine specialist must then apply for credentialling for PET in order that Medicare payments can be made to patients for PET services.

To enquire about prospective approval of PET training and obtain the relevant forms, please contact the RACP at NuclearMedicine[at]racp.edu.au or phone 02 8247 6279.

For PET credentialling queries, please see the following:

Information for PET credentialling

Application form for PET credentialling 

AANMS REGISTRAR RESEARCH AWARD 2013 

Congratulations to Dr David Pattison (Royal Melbourne Hospital/Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) on winning the AANMS Registrar Research Award for 2013. A copy of Dr Pattison's Award-winning paper, Quantitative assessment of thyroid-to-background ratio improves the inter-observer reliability of ^99mTc-Sestamibi Thyroid Scintigraphy for investigation of Amiodarone-induced Thyrotoxicosis, can be found here.

NM TRAINING POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR 2013

A full list of sites accredited for nuclear medicine and/or PET training for 2013 (including paediatric nuclear medicine) can be found here.

CTCA RECERTIFICATION

The Conjoint Committee for Recognition of Training in CT Coronary Angiography provides information in relation to the recertification process, to assist applicants in finalising their applications for recertification.  All CTCA specialists are asked to familiarise themselves with this essential information, which is available from the ANZCTCA website www.anzctca.org.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Committee secretariat at admin[at]anzctca.org

AHPRA - FAQs

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has just released a number of FAQ fact sheets, includiing one on the advertisement of health services.  Go to the AHPRA website for more information and to download the fact sheets.

Medical practitioners are among the health practitioners who must adhere to the requirements for advertising a regulated health service (others include chiropractic, dental, nursing and midwifery, optometry and pharmacy).  Under these requirements there are a number of unacceptable elements, including:

• making misleading claims
• offering an inducement such as a gift or discount (unless the relevant terms and conditions are also included)
• using testimonials
• creating unreasonable expectations of beneficial treatment, or
• encouraging the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of a service.

The National Boards have published advertising guidelines to help practitioners understand the Board's expectations.  These guidelines (together with a number of other guidelines, including the recently released Guidelines for Technology Based Patient Consultations) are available at http://www.medicalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Policies.aspx .

INFORMATION FOR REFERRING DOCTORS AND PATIENTS

Information prepared by the AANMS (as the ANZAPNM) for doctors requesting nuclear medicine procedures and for patients referred for either a nuclear medicine procedure or for nuclear medicine therapy can be found at the following links:

Referrer's Guide to Nuclear Medicine and updated list of PET items in Medicare Benefits Schedule (from 1 November 2011)

Patient's Guide to Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine Therapy Guide

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Please note that we do not provide medical advice or referrals to specialists (please read the disclaimer).