Nuclear pharmacy
Nuclear pharmacy is a specialized pharmacy practice area that involves the compounding and dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals – radioactive drugs – for use in nuclear medicine diagnostic studies and therapeutic applications. The development of nuclear pharmacy followed the development of nuclear medicine as a recognized specialty by the American Medical Association in the early 1970's. In 1978 the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) recognized nuclear pharmacy as its first specialized pharmacy practice setting, followed shortly after by the establishment of the Nuclear Pharmacy Practice Section within the American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA).
The basics of nuclear medicine
Through the use of radiopharmaceuticals and adjunct medications, nuclear medicine specialists provide safe, non-invasive, and cost-effective methods to image various organ systems and metabolic processes, as well as offer ways to treat certain diseases. Nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging is unique in its ability to provide information about both the structure and function of target organ systems. It provides a way to gather critical diagnostic information that would otherwise be unavailable, require invasive procedures, or necessitate more expensive alternative testing modalities. Visit what is nuclear medicine for additional information.
Radiopharmaceuticals
The majority of radiopharmaceuticals dispensed in the United States are diagnostic in nature, with only a small percentage possessing therapeutic applications. Most are provided in the form of unit dose syringes for parenteral administration. Other dosage forms include, but are not limited to: oral capsules, aqueous solutions for aerosol inhalation and gases for inhalation. Nuclear pharmacists deal with a wide spectrum of drug forms, ranging from:
Drugs can be as simple as the salt of a radioactive isotope or as complex as a monoclonal antibody based agent.
