Objectives: The International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) has been tracking activities associated with the clinical use of positron emission tomography (PET) in its members' healthcare systems since 1997 and published its first Joint Project report on PET in 1999. Part 1 of this Joint Project report presents survey results on diffusion, assessment activities, and policy for clinical use related to PET among INAHTA members since 1999.

Methods: INAHTA members were surveyed in 2003–2004.

Results: Twenty-seven INAHTA agencies (69 percent response rate) from nineteen countries responded to the survey. Dedicated PET systems are the most universally installed systems to date. Mobile scanners and modified gamma cameras are used occasionally as lower cost alternatives, and interest in PET–computed tomography hybrid models is rising despite limited assessment of impact on service planning. PET was used and assessed most commonly for managing patients with cancer. All respondents reported having some form of public funding for clinical PET frequently linked to data collection for the purpose of gathering evidence to refine clinical use and guide resource allocation toward indications that maximize clinical and cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions: The use of HTA within a continuous quality improvement framework can help optimize scarce resources for evaluation and use of high cost diagnostic technologies such as PET, particularly where potential clinical or cost-effectiveness is considerable but conclusive evidence is lacking.