Wednesday, January 07, 2009
PET/CT imaging services get boost in Salem
A planning report backs efforts by Lewis-Gale and Carilion to expand their imaging services.
The latest from The Ticker blog
A regional state health planning report recommends approving proposals by Lewis-Gale Medical Center and Carilion Clinic to expand imaging services in Salem.
Southwest Virginia's two major hospital systems are vying to expand their imaging services to offer patients access to a cutting-edge cardiac diagnostic tool that uses a radioactive drug with a PET/CT scanner.
Both Lewis-Gale and Carilion currently offer positron emission tomography/computer tomography imaging. But as the technology has become more widely used and as new ways for using it are developed, both hospitals filed certificate of public need applications for state approval to add new PET/CT services.
Despite some public opposition to the Carilion request, the Health Planning Agency of Southwest Virginia issued a staff report Dec. 30 recommending both projects be approved. A regional board meets today in Radford to vote on approving or denying each application.
After the regional board's decision, the applications go to Richmond where another staff report is prepared. The ultimate decision to approve or deny is left to the state health commissioner.
Much of the opposition to Carilion's application came from those who were concerned that Carilion was trying to encroach on Lewis-Gale's territory. The staff report noted the agency received "hundreds" of letters of support for the Lewis-Gale project, including a petition. A handful of letters of support were filed with the Carilion application, but unlike with Lewis-Gale, additional letters were not submitted after a public hearing in November.
Roanoke-based Carilion wants to operate its existing mobile PET/CT scanner unit less than a mile from Lewis-Gale in Salem in order to perform a very specific test for coronary artery disease known as myocardial imaging with N13-ammonia. The N13-ammonia has a shelf life of about 10 minutes and is produced at a radiopharmacy called Blue Ridge Isotopes about a quarter-mile from Lewis-Gale in Salem.
Carilion's critics sought to use Carilion's application as an example of how the hospital chain seeks to dominate the region's health care marketplace and stomp out competition. But the regional report suggested that by approving both applications, competition for PET/CT services would be bolstered.
"Approval of both projects would appear to foster competition between the two providers," reads a portion of the 17-page report.
While the Carilion proposal seeks to offer access to specialized cardiac diagnostic testing, the Lewis-Gale proposal's main thrust is to improve the service available to cancer patients by adding a permanent scanner.
Currently, Lewis-Gale offers PET/CT services through a part-time mobile unit.
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital already has a permanent PET/CT scanner.
