Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience

Nuclear medicine (NM) has been established in Malaysia for almost 60 years. It is a specialty that utilizes radiopharmaceuticals for theranostics, by the assessment of bodily functions to diagnose certain diseases and conditions particularly in oncology, cardiology, and neurology as well as to provi...

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Main Author: Suppiah, Subapriya
Format: Article
Published: Malaysian Medical Association 2021
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author Suppiah, Subapriya
author_facet Suppiah, Subapriya
author_sort Suppiah, Subapriya
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description Nuclear medicine (NM) has been established in Malaysia for almost 60 years. It is a specialty that utilizes radiopharmaceuticals for theranostics, by the assessment of bodily functions to diagnose certain diseases and conditions particularly in oncology, cardiology, and neurology as well as to provide therapeutic solutions in certain instances. The strengths of NM include the establishment of various nuclear medicine centres throughout the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak, particularly for general nuclear medicine, and the mushrooming of positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET/CT) centres along the states in the west coast of Malaysia, the institution of a formal national nuclear medicine physician training programme, and collaboration with international bodies to develop theranostic services. The challenges for NM ahead are namely regulatory and financial constraints for utilizing newer radiopharmaceuticals available in the international market, expansion of accredited training programmes to produce skilled healthcare workforce, optimization of resources at hand and multidisciplinary collaborations to reduce premature mortality of patients caused by noncommunicable diseases, particularly cancer.
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spelling upm.eprints-943872023-04-04T08:07:39Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94387/ Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience Suppiah, Subapriya Nuclear medicine (NM) has been established in Malaysia for almost 60 years. It is a specialty that utilizes radiopharmaceuticals for theranostics, by the assessment of bodily functions to diagnose certain diseases and conditions particularly in oncology, cardiology, and neurology as well as to provide therapeutic solutions in certain instances. The strengths of NM include the establishment of various nuclear medicine centres throughout the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak, particularly for general nuclear medicine, and the mushrooming of positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET/CT) centres along the states in the west coast of Malaysia, the institution of a formal national nuclear medicine physician training programme, and collaboration with international bodies to develop theranostic services. The challenges for NM ahead are namely regulatory and financial constraints for utilizing newer radiopharmaceuticals available in the international market, expansion of accredited training programmes to produce skilled healthcare workforce, optimization of resources at hand and multidisciplinary collaborations to reduce premature mortality of patients caused by noncommunicable diseases, particularly cancer. Malaysian Medical Association 2021-07 Article PeerReviewed Suppiah, Subapriya (2021) Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience. Medical Journal of Malaysia, 76 (4). 451 - 453. ISSN 0300-5283 https://www.e-mjm.org/2021/v76n4/index.html
spellingShingle Suppiah, Subapriya
Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title_full Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title_fullStr Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title_full_unstemmed Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title_short Nuclear medicine in Malaysia – strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
title_sort nuclear medicine in malaysia strengths and challenges for physicians after more than half a century of experience
work_keys_str_mv AT suppiahsubapriya nuclearmedicineinmalaysiastrengthsandchallengesforphysiciansaftermorethanhalfacenturyofexperience