| SPRINGFIELD — Western Mass-achusetts PET-CT Imaging, at Mercy Medical Center, has been accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
This distinction is the result of a national comprehensive peer evaluation that considers personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs. As part of the accreditation process, image quality and procedure evaluations were conducted by ACR board-certified radiologists and medical physicists who are experts in their field. Additionally, random validation through on-site surveys and random file checks may also be performed at any time during the three-year accreditation period.
“ACR accreditation is the national ‘gold standard’ for PET-CT imaging, and this achievement underscores the commitment to the highest quality patient care at Mercy Medical Center,” said Jayson St. Jacques, M.D., Medical Advisor of PET-CT Imaging at Mercy Medical Center. “By selecting an ACR accredited facility, patients can be sure they will receive the best possible care from the time of the initial referring physician request, the actual imaging procedure, to the final exam report.”
Mercy Medical Center added a fixed unit PET-CT in December 2006, making Western Massachusetts PET-CT Imaging the only full-time in-house provider of this advanced diagnostic testing service in the local area. PET-CT imaging utilizes the latest technology in the diagnosis of cancer, cardiac imaging, and neurology dementia assessment.
PET-CT combines two separate imaging tools, positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized tomography (CT), to collect both anatomical and biological information during a single exam and fuses them together. The test provides physicians with access to the most accurate information on disease location and metabolism, while providing patients with more choices in treatment, a better chance for a positive outcome and the ability to avoid unnecessary procedures.
The ACR is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic and interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, and nuclear medicine and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. |
