Outreach Committee Board Report
January 2015
Overall Objectives:
1.
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3.
4.
Educate patient advocacy groups about the current value and future promise of molecular imaging and
prepare them to be powerful allies in maintaining and expanding access to molecular imaging and therapy.
Increase knowledge among referring physicians about current value and future promise of molecular
imaging.
Raise awareness and deepen understanding among reimbursement administrative decision makers (private
health insurance, Medicare, radiology benefit managers) to balance the call to reduce care with an
understanding of the benefits of appropriate care
Create awareness of the power of molecular imaging and therapy in an effort to assist researchers in
advancing their discoveries to the clinic.
Outreach Committee
The committee, led by Henry VanBrocklin, PhD and Andrei Iagaru, MD, previously consisted of the committee
Co-Chairs and the chairs of the 5 working groups – brain, cardio, oncology, targeted radioisotope therapy, and
patient advocacy. After careful consideration, the committee decided to scale back the number of working
groups to ensure a more strategic outreach effort. The committee agreed to keep the brain, targeted radioisotope
therapy and patient advocacy working groups. The oncology and cardiology groups were dissolved as the areas
were too nebulous to allow for measurable objectives and concrete tasks. It was also agreed that the committee
structure needed to allow for input from the various expert groups throughout SNMMI. The newly restructured
committee met on December 18th, 2014 to orient the members to the purpose of the committee and their role in
the implementation of the outreach program. The committee members were tasked with identifying topic areas
that require outreach with the groups they represent and be prepared to present their ideas at the in-person on
January 24th, 2015 at the SNMMI MWM in San Antonio to discuss new topic areas for the 2015 outreach plan
and aligning with the SNMMI strategic goals.
The members of this committee are:
Andrei Horia Iagaru, MD
Timothy Manzone, MD, JD, CCD
Co-Chair and TRT Working Group Co-Chair
GCNMC Representative
Henry F. VanBrocklin, PhD
Jonathan McConathy, MD, PhD
Co-Chair
Brain Imaging Working Group Chair
Richard M. Benator, MD, FACR
Ashley Elizabeth Mishoe, PharmD
Pediatric Imaging Council Representative
YPC Representative
Alexandru Bageac, MD, MBA
Ryan Niederkohr, MD
Slosky Fellowship Appointee
PET COE Representative
Sharmila Dorbala, MD
Neeta D. Pandit-Taskar, MD
Cardiovascular Council Represntative
Nuclear Oncology Council Representative
Hossein Jadvar, MD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FACNM
Anthony J. Sicignano, BS, CNMT, ARRT(N)
TRT Working Group Co-Chair
Technologist Section Representative
Kathleen M. Krisak, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS
Chadwick Wright, MD, PhD
Technologist Section Representative
Leadership Academy Appointee
Josh Mailman, MBA
Patient Advocacy Advisory Board Chair
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Brain Imaging Outreach
Chair: Jon Mcconathy, MD
Dr. McConathy has been a member of this group since 2013 and was just appointed Chair. He is working to
increase the number of members in the working group and advance SNMMI’s goals to reach referring
physicians and patients. The FY15 brain imaging outreach plan includes arming members with tools for
speaking to referring physicians and patients about the value of brain imaging in the diagnosis and treatment,
partnering with the chapter leadership to create a referring physician education event in their area, and
continuing to propose sessions for other professional meetings such as the American Academy of Neurology,
American Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American
Psychiatric Association annual meetings. The group will also create materials for both referring physicians and
patients to post on the audience pages of snmmi.org.
In 2014, the group successfully completed an online education project with Medscape on the appropriate use of
amyloid imaging. The online project consisted of three interactive activities and a library of amyloid-specific
resources for referring physicians. Preliminary metrics are shown below. Overall, the program was highly
successful with over 15,000 learners, over 10,700 MDs, and more than 4,300 test takers.
 Clinical Developments in Amyloid PET Imaging: Research Updates
CME/CE Released: 09/24/2014; Valid for credit through 09/24/2015
Total Learners: 6,474
MD Learners: 3,702
Test Takers: 1,523
 Amyloid PET Imaging: Appropriate Use Criteria CME
CME Released: 05/30/2014; Valid for credit through 05/30/2015
Total Learners: 4,213
MD Learners: 3,260
Test Takers: 1,495
 Amyloid Imaging: Understanding the Appropriate Use Criteria CME
CME Released: 06/24/2014 ; Valid for credit through 06/24/2015
Total Learners: 4,423
MD Learners: 3,801
Test Takers: 1,369
The group had also planned to hold a referring physician education event at Emory University. However, due to
lack of interest from the neurology department, the group decided to focus on a different academic institution.
With the addition of Dr. Jacob Dubroff to the working group, the University of Pennsylvania was identified as a
the location of the pilot program. Members of the group are developing the program outline to approach the
UPenn Neurology and Psychiatry departments for collaboration. The working group will use the results of this
pilot program to decide if this type of program can be used as a road show.
Cardiovascular Outreach
Prior to being dissolved, the cardiovascular outreach group planned to create a think tank to discuss the state of
cardiovascular molecular imaging and determine how current technologies could be translated to address gaps
in clinical care. Due to competing events and availability, the group decided to postpone this event to 2015. The
SNMMI/ ASNC Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Think Tank: Devising Strategies to Bridge the Translational
Divide meeting will take place on April 16-17, 2015. The multidisciplinary program committee includes
representatives from 8 cardiovascular societies - American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association,
Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, American Society of Echocardiography, Radiological Society
of North America, Heart Failure Society of America, Heart Rhythm Society, and World Molecular Imaging
Society. The program will address gaps in cardiovascular molecular imaging in the areas of arrhythmias, heart
failure, valvular disease, vascular disease, and thrombosis.
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Patient Advocacy Advisory Board
Chair: Josh Mailman, MBA
Due to the hard work and dedication of the Chairman, Josh Mailman, the SNMMI patient education program
has been very successful. The Board currently consists of representatives from Alzheimer's Association,
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, Colon Cancer Alliance, Facing
Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Lung Cancer Alliance, Lymphoma Research Foundation, NorCal CarciNET,
and Prostate Cancer Research Institute, Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association.
Members of the PAAB, along with SNMMI members attended the Patient Hill Day on Tuesday, September 30,
2014. This lobbying day was attended by nine patient advocates, four SNMMI members, and four SNMMI staff
members who met with 23 Congressional offices. The group focused on their personal stories and how nuclear
medicine and molecular imaging made a significant difference in their management, and reiterated the need for
continued funding from the Department of Energy (DOE), and the a reliable domestic supply of Molybdenum99 (Mo-99). The 2014 Patient Hill Lobbying Day was a great success. It is important to strengthen connections
made between SNMMI members and their congressional representatives. This will ensure that there is a patient
perspective on different molecular imaging and nuclear medicine affairs.
The PAAB has begun planning the Patient Education Day for the 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. As
in previous years, the program will be provided at no cost and will explain what nuclear medicine and
molecular imaging is, what they need to know about radiation safety, and to explain the value of PET, SPECT,
and radioisotope therapy use in 3 disease areas (to be determined). Potential disease topics for the program are
lung cancer, thyroid cancer, heart disease, and lymphoma.
The Chair-Elect, Betsy de Parry, will take office in June 2015. Since her recovery from non-Hodgkin
lymphoma in 2002, Betsy has authored two books about the experience of cancer and written numerous essays
and articles, including her popular “Candid Cancer” column for AnnArbor.com, which is read by thousands
around the world. She has produced and hosted reports called “Candid Cancer” for a PBS show and, in
collaboration with the Lymphoma Foundation of America, produced and hosted webcasts about cancer-related
issues. She is a frequent speaker to healthcare and patient groups and a frequent participant in awareness,
educational and advocacy efforts. She has been featured on NPR and in The New York Times and her
experience with cancer was the subject of a documentary which aired on PBS in 2010. She is the founder of
Candid Cancer, a nonprofit whose goal is to help survivors of all kinds of cancers to achieve the highest levels
of emotional and physical well-being after diagnosis. Betsy serves as Heath Policy Advisor to the Lymphoma
Foundation of America. She lives and works with her husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she is vice
president of marketing and sales for their homebuilding and land development company. Betsy is excited to
bring her passion for radioimmunotherapy and nuclear medicine to the role of PAAB Chair.
Targeted Radioisotope Therapy Outreach
Co-Chairs: Hossein Jadvar, MD and Andrei Iagaru, MD
The Targeted Radioisotope Therapy working group is working to address underutilization of targeted
radionuclide therapy, create updated patient materials for the website and patient education events, and educate
legislators, regulatory officials, and funding bodies about the value of radionuclide therapy.
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Work on the two TRT online modules has been delayed by the transition to the new learning management
system. Past online modules, which were to be used as templates, were not available to Drs. Mittra and
Zukotynski. Work on this project will resume once they are granted access to the migrated programs on the new
system. Once complete, these modules will be made available for SNMMI members and interested nonmembers.
SNMMI and the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) held their first joint symposium at
the NANETS Annual Meeting on October 10,2014, in Nashville, Tenn., to provide an in-depth review of the
clinical utility of the nuclear medicine technologies for NETs. The organizers, Drs. Andrei Iagaru and Pam
Kunz from Stanford University, designed a comprehensive program that covered the history of somatostatin
receptor imaging, current and future developments, a critical review of PRRT in current clinical trials, and the
integration of PRRT into routine clinical care. The symposium was well attended and sparked significant
discussion about improving the standard of care for NETs and revising the exclusion/inclusion criteria for future
clinical trials. Since the area of nuclear medicine plays a significant role in the field of NETs, the NANETs
program committee has requested another joint session for the 2015 program.
In 2015, the group will create a new webinar series for patients. The series will consist of 5 webinars on the
same topics and speakers selected for the physician series. Each webinar will have a nuclear medicine/oncology
physician pair to present the disease management plan, and will be held during the respective national disease
awareness month.
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Targeted Radioimmunotherapy for Lymphoma, Erik Mittra, MD and John Pagel, MD
Therapeutic Landscape for Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Andrei Iagaru, MD and Sandy Srinivas, MD
Y90 Microsphere Therapy for Liver Cancer, Ghassan El-Haddad, MD and Richard Kim, MD
Peptide Receptor Radiotherapy for Neuroendocrine Tumors, Erik Mittra, MD and Edward Wolin, MD
I-131 MIBG Therapy for Neuroblastoma, Ted Treves, MD and Katherine Matthay, MD
In addition to webinars, the group will continue to propose educational sessions for the American Urological
Association, North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society, American College of Gastroenterology, and
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists annual meetings. The group aims to hold sessions at the
subspecialty ASCO conferences in gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers.
Sessions have been accepted for American Urological Association's 110th Annual Meeting ("Update on Xofigo
(Ra-223) Therapy, Post FDA Approval") as part of the plenary program. Dr. Erik Mittra, a member of this
group, will be giving the talk. Joint symposia have been accepted by RSNA, ASCO and NANETS and planning
is well underway.
Lastly, in preparation for the approval of 177Lu-DOTA0-Tyr3-Octreotate, the group aims to hold 2 road shows
to increase awareness of the newly available treatment.
Industry Forum Education Working Group
The education group is co-Chaired by Dr. Henry VanBrocklin and Marybeth Howlett. The group met at RSNA
to finalize the objectives and begin developing tactics for each objective. The objectives are as follows:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increase the knowledge of referring and imaging physicians of the appropriate use and benefits of
NM/MI; thereby, increasing patient access
a.
Complete an inventory of educational outreach materials from each member
of the group with existing materials (SNMMI, Eli Lilly, PETNet, Medscape).
b.
Review tactics that have been used in the past (e.g., CORAR)
c.
Have educational/outreach materials on the websites of referring physician
organizations (ASCO, AAN, ACC, etc.);
d.
Work with industry to have NM/MI tests display on PACS systems.
Educate payers on the clinical effectiveness and appropriate use of NM/MI procedures.
Enhance patient awareness of the safety and efficacy of NM/MI procedures.
Increase public awareness of the safety, value, and importance of NM/MI procedures.
Educate policy makers on the value of NM/MI procedures.
The group met via conference call on January 7th to discuss prior strategies for referring physician education and
awareness and what types of programs worked/did not work. Another in-person meeting will be held on Friday, January
23rd at the MWM in San Antonio to finalize the plan before the full Industry Forum meeting on Sunday, January 25th.
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