AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
POSITION STATEMENT ON PRINCIPLES OF NEUROIMAGING TRAINING, GUIDELINES AND PRACTICE
March 2008
Preamble
The American Academy of Neurology Professional Association (AAN/PA), representing over 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, recognizes the increasing importance of patient access to neuroimaging technologies and physicians qualified to perform and interpret imaging scans.
Over the past three decades, neuroimaging has grown to become an essential tool in diagnosing and guiding treatment of patients with neurological conditions. Diagnostic and interventional neuroimaging, e.g., neurosonography, CT, MRI, SPECT, PET, angiography (and other endovascular procedures), yield increasingly detailed structural and functional information that presents significant interpretive challenges for those involved in the care of neurological patients.
Neurologists are in a particularly strong position to define the appropriateness and interpret the findings of nervous-system imaging studies. Neurologists receive extensive training in the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the nervous system, using the latest in imaging techniques. Neurologists are thus uniquely qualified to identify the clinical manifestations of nervous system disease, to tailor imaging studies to the needs of their patients, and to interpret these studies in a context of clinical relevance.
Imaging constitutes a large and growing sector of the healthcare economy: whether that growth is justified is subject to review. There is an ongoing debate among public and private payers, medical specialties, equipment manufacturers and lawmakers about the appropriate use of imaging technologies by physicians of all specialties. Questions of accreditation and certification, reading privileges and reimbursement, prior authorization, and ownership of equipment add further complexity to the policy picture.
