PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mench, Anna
AU  - Winters, Celeste
AU  - Mittra, Erik
AU  - Szidonya, Laszlo
AU  - Hess, Catherine
AU  - Barbon, Dennis
AU  - Mallak, Nadine
TI  - Navigating Radiation Safety After Radiopharmaceutical Therapies: Proposed Workflow and Essential Guidelines for Nonspecialists
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.124.268522
DP  - 2025 Feb 27
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - jnumed.124.268522
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2025/02/27/jnumed.124.268522.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2025/02/27/jnumed.124.268522.full
AB  - With the increasing use of radiopharmaceutical therapies, there is a critical need to appropriately inform health care professionals (HCPs) who are unfamiliar with these therapies about the radiation safety precautions required when managing recently treated patients. Clear and easily accessible instructions are essential for minimizing radiation exposure to medical staff and simultaneously reducing fear of interacting with a radioactive patient, as these factors can impact the delivery of adequate and timely medical care. In this paper, we present a workflow designed to provide clear guidelines and safety protocols for HCPs who may encounter postradiopharmaceutical therapy patients during urgent medical visits or hospital admissions. This workflow consists of 2 key strategies: an electronic medical record flag system and a physical wristband that alerts the HCP that the patient may be radioactive and includes a link to a website with detailed information. These tools ensure that HCPs who encounter these patients will have immediate access to essential radiation safety information, thereby safeguarding staff and maintaining the continuity of patient care.