The economics of creating a positron emission tomography center.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning has been a powerful research tool since its inception. Changes in the marketplace that have allowed PET to move into the clinical environment include the commercial availability of appropriate radiopharmaceuticals, reimbursement of procedures by insurance companies, and increasing awareness of physicians of the benefits of PET. Facilities that are interested in clinical PET need to develop a process to purchase equipment with an appropriate business plan. This is necessary to assure financial viability and to convince hospital administrators of the viability. The creation of a successful PET program requires an understanding of all aspects relating to a center. The process begins with reviewing the mission statement of the facility. The next step is to prepare the feasibility study, which includes reviewing the existing marketplace and determining the volume, level of referring physicians' interest, and availability of radiopharmaceuticals. Finally, an appropriate pro forma needs to be constructed to facilitate the final decision concerning the potential financial viability of such an endeavor.