A professional who prepares and dispenses radioactive pharmaceuticals used for patient diagnosis and therapy, applying principles and practices of pharmacy and radiochemistry. Responsibilities include:

• Receives radiopharmaceutical prescription from physician and reviews prescription to determine suitability of radiopharmaceutical for intended use.
• Verifies that specified radioactive substance and reagent will give desired results in examination or treatment procedures, utilizing knowledge of radiopharmaceutical preparation and principles of drug biodistribution.
• Calculates volume of radioactive pharmaceutical required to provide patient with desired level of radioactivity at prescribed time, according to established rates of radioisotope decay.
• Compounds radioactive substances and reagents to prepare radiopharmaceutical, following radiopharmacy laboratory procedures.
• Assays prepared radiopharmaceutical, using measuring and analysis instruments and equipment, such as ionization chamber, pulse-height analyzer, and radioisotope dose calibrator, to verify rate of drug disintegration and to ensure that patient receives required dose.
• Consults with physician following patient treatment or procedure to review and evaluate quality and effectiveness of radiopharmaceutical.
• Conducts research to develop or improve radiopharmaceuticals.
• Prepares reports for regulatory agencies to obtain approval for testing and use of new radiopharmaceuticals.
• Maintains control records for receipt, storage, preparation, and disposal of radioactive nuclei.
• Occasionally conducts training for students and medical professionals concerning radiopharmacy use, characteristics, and compounding procedures.