PET-CT Service at Mercy Gains Reaccreditation

Photo Caption The team at Western Massachusetts PET-CT Imaging say the practice is currently the only full-time, in-house provider of a fixed-unit PET-CT in the local area.

SPRINGFIELD — Western Massachusetts PET-CT Imaging at Mercy Medical Center has been reaccredited for a three-year term by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

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 fuse 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 gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient-safety standards. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR practice guidelines and technical standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality-control procedures, and quality-assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR committee on accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.

 “ACR accreditation for PET-CT imaging is an important indicator of Mercy Medical Center’s ongoing commitment to high-quality patient care,” said Dr. Jayson St. Jacques, 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 physician referral, during the actual imaging procedure, to the final exam report.”

Mercy Medical Center added a fixed-unit PET-CT in 2006, and Western Massachusetts PET-CT Imaging remains 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.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 36,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear-medicine physicians, and medical physicists, with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services.