Improving Communication: Flip-Chart Book Translates Complicated Medical Procedures Into Easy-To-Understand Language

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 18 Mar 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Patients and medical staff can now be on the same page with "A Patient's Guide to Nuclear Medicine Procedures: English-Spanish" ("Una Guia Para el Paciente Sobre Procedimientos de la Medicina Nuclear: Ingles - Espanol") - a new publication from SNM.

Written in both English and Spanish, the book explains in simple terms what nuclear medicine is and what the patient can expect prior to and during more than 30 specific nuclear imaging procedures. The book, in its flip-chart format, can easily be set up in doctor's offices, patient reception areas, labs, and imaging rooms. Patients can read along in Spanish as medical personnel read from the opposite side.

"Patient preparation is one of the most important aspects of any nuclear medicine procedure. A patient who understands what to expect, how to prepare, and what the time commitment is for a procedure will be more cooperative, and in this way, improve the final diagnostic or therapeutic quality of the exam," said Juan C. Más, CNMT, RT(N), and author of the book.

Chapters such as "Bone Scan," "Myocardial Perfusion Study," and "PET and PET/CT" are tabbed in the flip-chart format for easy access. The guide also comes in a handy pocket-sized format that can fit into a shirt or lab coat pocket and be used for easy reference, such as at a patient's bedside.

"In addition to Spanish speakers, the simplified terms will help English speakers unfamiliar with medical terminology," said Más, lead technologist at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. "The book will also be an aid to physicians and technologists who are new to the field and haven't had a lot of patient contact."

For more information on the flip-chart formatted guide and the pocket-sized edition please visit http://www.snm.org/shop.

"A Patient's Guide to Nuclear Medicine Procedures: English-Spanish" was written by Juan C. Más, RT (R,N,CT), CNMT.

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About SNM - Advancing Molecular Imaging and Therapy

SNM is an international scientific and professional organization of more than 16,000 members dedicated to promoting the science, technology and practical applications of molecular and nuclear imaging to diagnose, manage and treat diseases in women, men and children. Founded more than 50 years ago, SNM continues to provide essential resources for health care practitioners and patients; publish the most prominent peer-reviewed resource in the field; sponsor research grants, fellowships and awards; host the premier annual meeting for medical imaging; and train physicians, technologists, scientists, physicists, chemists and radiopharmacists in state-of-the-art imaging procedures and advances. SNM members have introduced - and continue to explore - biological and technological innovations in medicine that noninvasively investigate the molecular basis of diseases, benefiting countless generations of patients. SNM is based in Reston, Va.; additional information can be found online at http://www.snm.org/.

Source: Kathryn Wiley
Society of Nuclear Medicine

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