Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear pharmacy compounding is an integral part of pharmacy practice and is essential to the provision of health care and delivery of a cost-effective radiopharmaceutical service. It can be as simple as adding a radioactive liquid to a commercially available reagent kit, or as complex as the creation of a multi-component reagent kit or the synthesis of a radiolabeled compound via a multi-step preparation process. Radiopharmaceuticals play a vital role in nuclear medicine to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers.

Standard procedures, best practices, facilities and equipment for the preparation and dispensing of radioactive drugs are essential to any radiopharmacy operation. Although not all radiopharmaceuticals are classified as hazardous drugs, the engineering controls and work practices are intended to ensure the safety of the compounded sterile preparation as well as protect the operator from exposure to radioactivity.