SNMMI Board of Directors

Meeting

September 27, 2015 at 8:00am (ET)

Minutes - FINAL

Members in Attendance:

Hossein Jadvar, MD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FACNM; Sally Schwarz, MS, RPh, BCNP; Bennett S. Greenspan, MD, FACNM, FACR; Michael Middleton, MD, FACNM;Peter Herscovitch, MD, FACP, FRCPC; Cindi Luckett-Gilbert, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS; Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD; Aaron Scott, MIS, CNMT, NMAA, FSNMMI-TS; Alan Packard, PhD; Neil A. Petry, MS, RPh, BCNP; Anthony Sicignano, BS, CNMT, ARRT(N), FSNMMI-TS; Helen Nadel, MD;Todd Peterson, PhD; Sara Johnson, MBA, CNMT, NCT, FSNMMI-TS; Virginia Pappas, CAE.

Members Not in Attendance:

Vasken Dilsizian, MD;Jon Baldwin, DO, MBS; Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM; Leonie Gordon, MD, FACNM; HazemChehabi, MD, FACNM.

Guests in Attendance: Peter Conti, MD, PhD; Phillip J. Koo, MD, David Brandon, MD; Robert B. Shue.

SNMMI Staff in Attendance:

Judy Brazel; Sue Bunning; Bonnie Clarke, Matt Dickens; Ann Latham; Mary McMahon; Rebecca Maxey; Vince Pistilli, CPA; Joanna Spahr; Sukhjeet Ahuja; Nikki Wenzel Lamb, MBA, CAE;Helen Leonard; Jayzel Lizares.

  1. Welcome and Call to Order

Hossein Jadvar, MD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FACNM, SNMMI President,called the meeting to order at 8:05am (ET).

  1. Establishment of a Quorum

Michael Middleton, MD, FACNM, SNMMI Secretary/Treasurer, confirmed that a quorum was present.

  1. Approval of Agenda and Standing Rules

A motion was made to approve the September 27, 2015 SNMMI Board of Directors agenda.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the September 27, 2015SNMMI Board of Directors agenda.

A motion was made to approve the standing rules.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the standing rules.

  1. Approval of Meeting Minutes

Dr. Middleton presented the minutes from the SNMMI Board of Directors August 24 and conference call.

A motion was made to approve the minutes from the SNMMI Board of Directors August 24 conference call.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the minutes from the SNMMI Board of Directors August 24 conference call.

  1. SNMMI Board Member Orientation
  1. Review of Orientation Manual

Virginia Pappas, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, presented an overview of the SNMMI Board Member orientation manual and its contents. The manual has been updated and is meant to serve as a resource for board members.

  1. Future Board Meeting Dates

Virginia Pappas reviewed the available dates for the 2016 Spring and Fall Board of Director’s meetings. After considering all the proposed dates, the SNMMI Board of Directors selected the dates of May 1-2, 2016 for the Spring Board meeting and September 17-18, 2016 for the fall Board meeting.

  1. SNMMI President’s Report

Dr. Jadvar provided an update on activities within the SNMMI including the new Therapy Center of Excellence, the ACR/SNMMI PET/MR Credentialing Statement, the PET/CT AUC workgroup and the letter that the SNMMI signed onto requesting to delay the Medicare AUC Program. Dr. Jadvar gave a brief review of the meetings he has attended so far as well as future meetings he will participate in on behalf of the SNMMI. Lastly, Dr. Jadvar reported that he has been very busy with numerous discussions involving stakeholders and interest groups regarding the ABNM/ABR Joint Task Force proposal.

  1. SNMMI President-Elect Report

Sally W. Schwarz, MS, RPh, BCNP, President-Elect, reported on her areas of activity. Highlights included her work with the high level working group on the security of medical radioisotopes (HLG-MR), specifically for the Mo-99 World Supply (Market Demand & Production Capacity) held in Paris on July 8-9, 2015, the Mo-99 Topical meeting in Boston on August 31-September 3, 2015, and her continued work on the Qualified Person Training Program (QPTP).

  1. SNMMI Vice-President Report

Bennett S. Greenspan, MD, FACNM, FACR, Vice President, gave a brief report on his activities. As the Chair of the PET CoE Radiotracer Encyclopedia task force, Dr. Greenspan noted the tracers that have already been approved and listed on the SNMMI website as well as the tracers his task force is currently working on for approval by the PET CoE board of directors this fall. Dr. Greenspan is organizing a session on regulations and training issues in nuclear medicine for the 2016 SNMMI mid-winter meeting and would like to pursue collaborative efforts with the ABNM to improve training pathways in nuclear medicine.

  1. Real Estate Presentation

Dr. Jadvar introduced Robert B. Shue of Jones Lang LaSalle to give his presentation on future zoning and building plans that will affect the land where the SNMMI headquarters office is located. Mr. Shue reviewed a timeline of building activities for consideration by the board of directors.

Vince Pistilli, SNMMI Chief Financial Officer, reported that both he and Ms. Pappas have attended several meetings with county developers to hear what is planned for the area around the SNMMI headquarter building. Dr. Jadvar informed the board that the SNMMI leadership will create a special task force to consider the plans for the area and determine, whether to lease or buy a new building, and the location, and timing of the transition process.

  1. SNMMI-TS President’s Report

Aaron Scott, MIS, CNMT, NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, President, SNMMI TS reported on the SNMMI-TS Strategic Membership Initiative and the survey results and comments from the SNMMI-TS survey regarding the ABNM/ABR Joint Task Force proposal.

  1. Approval of SNMMI Comments on the JRCNMT revised accreditation standards

Mr. Scott reviewed the SNMMI comments on the JRCNMT revised accreditation standards for nuclear medicine technologist education.

A motion was made to approve the SNMMI comments on the JRCNMT revised accreditation standards for nuclear medicine technologist education.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the SNMMI comments on the JRCNMT revised accreditation standards for nuclear medicine technologist education (Appendix A).

  1. Approval of SNMMI Comments on the ARRT proposed content specifications and clinical competency requirements for the NMT exam

Mr. Scott reviewed the SNMMI comments on the ARRT proposedcontent specifications and clinical competency requirements for the NMT exam. Mr. Scott noted the following additional comments that will be added to the document: Add electronic medical records under the section on Patient Care, add scanner configurations under the section on Image Production, and add FDG and Ammonia M13 on page 9, section A. Production of Radionuclides.

A motion was made to approve the SNMMI comments on the ARRT proposed content specifications and clinical competency requirements for the NMT exam with the additions noted above.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the SNMMI comments on the ARRT proposed content specifications and clinical competency requirements for the NMT exam with the additions noted above (Appendix B).

  1. Approval of SNMMI comments on the NMT Risk Study

Mr. Scott reviewed the SNMMI comments on the NMT Risk Study and reported the only change was to add his signature as the President of the SNMMI Technologist Section.

A motion was made to approve the SNMMI comments on the NMT Risk Study with the addition of the SNMMI-TS President’s signature.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the SNMMI comments on the NMT Risk Study with the addition of the SNMMI-TS President’s signature (Appendix C).

  1. Paul Cole Scholarship Update

Mr. Scott presented information from the Education and Research Foundation for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (ERF) regarding a proposal for the SNMMI Technologist Section and the ERF to work together to transform the Paul Cole Scholarship Fund into a permanently restricted fund with the guaranty that the Technologist Section will receive funds allocated for technologist’s education each year in perpetuity. ERF is recommending a plan to work with the SNMMI Technologist Section to raise the balance of the Paul Cole Scholarship fund to $300,000 which would include having the SNMMI-TS add approximately $28,306 to kick-start the campaign. The ERF and the SNMMI-TS would raise an additional $100,000 to add to the fund for a balance of $300,000, paying out 15 scholarships per year.

  1. Chief Executive Officer Report

Virginia Pappas, CAE, SNMMI Chief Executive Officer, briefly reviewed SNMMI recruitment and retention efforts and informed the board that full members are at 94% of the overall budget, with $1,485,991 in revenue for FY15. Highlights of her report included a summary of the SNMMI 2015 Annual Meeting, updates on the SNMMI 2016 Mid-Winter and Annual meetings, publications and social networking, the 2015 Slosky Fellow, awards, the patient hill day planned for September 27, 2015, outreach efforts, and staff announcements.

  1. Approval of the Re-stated SNMMI 401K Plan and participant loan program

Ms. Pappas briefly reviewed the recommendation of the Trustees of the SNMMI 401k Plan to approve and adopt the restated plan document and participant loan program effective October 1, 2015.

A motion was made to approve and adopt the restated SNMMI 401k plan document and participant loan program.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve and adopt the restated SNMMI 401k plan document and participant loan program (Appendix D).

  1. Approval of the Re-stated SNMMI Flexible Spending Plan

Ms. Pappas explained that the need to periodically amend or restate the flexible spending plan documents is necessary in order to be in compliance with IRS regulations.

A motion was made to approve and adopt the restated SNMMI flexible spending plan document.

It was moved, seconded and voted to approve and adopt the restated SNMMI flexible spending plan document (Appendix E).

  1. Awards Committee

Peter Herscovitch, MD, FACP, FRCPC, SNMMI Immediate Past President, reported that the resolution to approve the 2016 Slate of Awards (funded by ERF) will not be considered as the SNMMI Finance Committee has requested that the SNMMI Grants and Awards Committee review the slate again to include the Nuclear Medicine Physics Residency. Dr. Herscovitch reminded the board that the SNMMI Awards Committee has both a Chair and a Vice-Chair to help in the transition process.

  1. Education Strategic Plan

Alan Packard, PhD, Chair, SNMMI Education Committee, reported the committee would like to add four more people to the education committee that would include two individuals from the SNMMI Technologist Section and two individuals from the SNMMI. The committee also plans to work more with the councils and centers to plan sessions for the mid-winter and annual meetings.

  1. Publications Committee Update
  1. MI Journal Discussion

Todd Peterson, PhD, Chair, SNMMI Publications Committee, gave a brief overview and background of the SNMMI agreement with Decker Publishing. The committee was not interested in buying the MI Journal however, there is a publishing company called Sage Publishing that is interested in purchasing the MI Journal. The SNMMI currently has no official agreement with Sage but it was noted that Sage Publishing is a very reputable company and has done very good work with a number of journals. The Publications Committee feels that there is still space for another journal within the SNMMI that would be of interest to our members. The committee discussed whether the SNMMI should start its own journal but the committee decided it would not be cost effective and more staff and seed money would be needed.

  1. Editor Search Update

Mr. Peterson reported on the new editor search for the Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). Applications for a new editor are in progress and the deadline for applications is November 1, 2015. The task force will review each application and narrow it down to approximately 5 finalists. The final applications would be sent to the Publications Committee and then to the SNMMI House of Delegates. Mr. Peterson noted that the editorial board retreat funding was added back into the FY2016 budget prior to its approval.

  1. New Business
  1. Dr. Jadvar reminded the board members that the SNMMI will want to provide possible alternatives to the ABNM for improving training and certification in nuclear medicine. As such, the SNMMI will be looking into putting together a small working group to research the training programs that are currently available and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each training pathway in order to make recommendations to the SNMMI board of directors. Dr. Jadvar asked the board who they thought should be invited to serve on this working group. Dr. Bennett Greenspan volunteered to be part of the group and also suggested getting the ACGME involved. Other comments included making sure we focus on covering the value of nuclear medicine. There will be a session at the SNMMI 2016 Mid-Winter meeting on this topic that will provide a good opportunity to solicit input from stakeholders. It is important to involve the ABNM and to also include the SNMMI’s Quality initiative goal in the SNMMI response letter to the ABNM and ABR. The SNMMI wants to work collaboratively with the ABNM to move the field of nuclear medicine forward.
  1. Mr. Scott let the board know that he added the SNMMI has a group on the Fit Bit device so users now have the option to select the SNMMI and become a member of our group.
  1. Adjournment

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting 11:00am (ET).

It was moved, seconded and voted to adjourn the meeting at 11:00am (ET).