The Internet: the road to more effective PET.

We may live in the Information Age, but so far information technology (IT) has had little impact on how most nuclear medicine physicians and radiologists practice medicine. Many remain skeptical that IT can improve the care of patients, increase productivity, or enhance income. They fail to recognize that IT is a disruptive technology that will leave behind those who do not embrace it. Although hospital physicians often examine radiographic images and to a lesser degree pathology slides along with the responsible radiologist or pathologist, this collaboration occurs less often than it should in office practice. Teams of radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and referring physicians can use the Internet for the high-quality transfer and display of images for simultaneous consultation. People can now be connected electronically in ways never before possible, and in the next generation at speeds that will become a thousand times faster. Nuclear medicine can take advantage of its unique position as an early adopter of digital technology to lead the way as the practice of medicine is changed forever.