The procedure standards help to identify those elements of the procedure that are most important in obtaining a high-quality examination, while simultaneously controlling costs. Use of procedure standards will increase the applicability of clinical research among multiple institutions, in turn, increasing the value of research studies, particularly in the field of technology assessment. In the interest of creating strong, comprehensive documents, some standards were formally adopted by SNMMI in collaboration with other professional organizations.
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Practice Guidelines were renamed Procedure Standards in February 2014. This change was initiated in an effort to better reflect the terminology being used by external organizations. Any previous Practice Guideline or Procedure Guideline that describes how to perform a procedure is now considered an SNMMI Procedure Standard.