On Demand: Implementing Shared Cardiac PET Services: Operational and Technical Considerations for CV Leaders and Clinicians Responsible for Making-Webinar Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar focused on how to implement shared cardiac PET services, emphasizing operational and technical planning for programs where cardiology and radiology share one scanner. The presenters explained that the biggest challenges are usually not technical, but operational: scheduling conflicts, patient prep mismatches, unclear roles, delayed decisions, and stress-testing logistics.<br /><br />They organized success into four pillars: people, infrastructure, workflow, and governance. Key stakeholders should include clinical leaders, technologists, schedulers, IT, and PACS representatives. Clear ownership is essential for decisions about protocols, patient conflicts, and escalation paths.<br /><br />Workflow issues included scheduling models, prep requirements, same-day add-ons, throughput, and radiopharmaceutical coordination. Infrastructure concerns centered on EHR ordering, PACS access, reporting workflows, and avoiding permanent workarounds.<br /><br />On the technical side, they stressed equipment readiness, protocol standardization, image quality, QA programs, and consistent reporting templates. They noted that existing PET scanners may not be cardiac-ready without added hardware, software, or stress-test capability.<br /><br />As programs scale, risks include training drift, protocol creep, reader variability, and assuming standards are understood rather than taught. Their main message: consistency, governance, and frequent communication are critical to delivering high-quality shared cardiac PET services.

Keywords

shared cardiac PET

cardiology radiology collaboration

operational planning

workflow management

governance

PET scanner readiness

protocol standardization