AAPM Government Affairs

AAPM is deeply engaged in advocacy, continuously working to represent the interests of our profession with dedicated AAPM staff, expert consultants, and lobbyists actively monitoring, responding to, and leading initiatives that affect medical physicists.

(August 26, 2026)

AAPM Submits Response to NIH Request for Information on Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact

AAPM submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health in response to its Request for Information on Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact (NOT-OD-26-087). This RFI is one of several through which NIH has recently sought public input as it implements its new Unified Funding Strategy - announced in 2025 and effective with the January 2026 Council round - which moves NIH beyond reliance on the overall peer-review score toward funding decisions that weigh a fuller range of scientific merit, agency priorities, workforce needs, and portfolio balance. NIH sought public input on how to assess and reward the full range of contributions that advance biomedical science, including rigor and reproducibility, data and software sharing, training and mentorship, collaboration, entrepreneurship and translation, foundational scientific exploration, and public impact.

AAPM's response emphasized that conventional impact metrics — such as citation counts, high-impact journal placement, and authorship position — systematically undervalue much of the work that is essential to rigorous, safe, and translatable science. AAPM highlighted the central role of medical physics in building and maintaining the measurement, validation, dosimetry, quality-assurance, data, and software infrastructure through which biomedical discoveries are delivered safely and accurately.

Across all seven focus areas, AAPM urged NIH to recognize enabling infrastructure as a first-class scientific output, to credit the contributions of all members of collaborative teams rather than attributing success solely to principal investigators, and to value rigorous negative findings, reproducibility efforts, and preventive benefits that traditional metrics overlook. AAPM encouraged NIH to adopt evaluation approaches that are appropriate to a project's maturity and timeline, that draw on indicators already collected within the field, and that avoid oversimplified measures inviting overstatement or disadvantaging foundational, safety-focused, and infrastructure-oriented research.

NRC Medical Use Licensing and Patient Release Guidance: Member Comment Opportunity

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on two items related to medical use of radioactive material: the proposed rule, Reducing Barriers to Medical Use Licensing, and draft regulatory guide DG-8070, Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material, which would revise Regulatory Guide 8.39. Comments on both items are due September 10. NRC lists the medical-use licensing rule under Docket ID NRC-2025-1237 with a September 10 deadline, and the DG-8070 notice identifies Docket ID NRC-2026-3730 with comments due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 10.

The proposed medical-use licensing rule may affect requirements for medical-use licensees, Radiation Safety Officers, authorized users, authorized medical physicists, authorized nuclear pharmacists, and institutions operating under NRC or Agreement State requirements. The draft patient-release guidance addresses release of patients administered radioactive material and includes issues related to 10 CFR § 35.75, including patient release, caregiver exposure, written consent, dose calculations, and instructions to patients and caregivers.

AAPM is reviewing both items and preparing organizational responses. These issues are particularly relevant to medical physicists involved in radiation safety, nuclear medicine, radiopharmaceutical therapy, patient-release calculations, caregiver instructions, institutional radiation-safety oversight, and medical-use licensing programs.

Members are encouraged to review the proposed rule and draft guidance and submit individual comments directly through the applicable federal rulemaking dockets by September 10. Member input can help NRC better understand how the proposed licensing changes and patient-release guidance may affect clinical, academic, research, and radiopharmacy settings.

Submit comments: Medical Use Licensing Proposed Rule | DG-8070 Patient Release Guidance

Please contact Lauren DePutter, AAPM’s Director of Government Affairs and External Relations, with any questions or concerns.

Monthly AAPM Advocacy Updates

How you can help!

Your voice and participation strengthen our advocacy efforts. Numerous opportunities exist for AAPM members to advocate by lending their voices, experiences and collective expertise.

Become a state champion through CHAMPS and CHAMPWG
Take action through the AAPM Advocacy Action Center to contact lawmakers and support key policy priorities affecting medical physics
Volunteer on key committees including GRAC, ECON or through subcommittees and working groups: WGPVAC, CRCPDS, JMPLSC, and GRPSC

How AAPM is Actively Advocating:

Monitoring and Engagement: Our staff and dedicated volunteers closely track news, policy actions, and communications from peer and partner organizations. This ensures we are informed and responsive, supporting relevant initiatives beneficial to our members.
Informing Membership: Stay updated through the AAPM Newsletter, e-News, association emails, committee updates, meeting sessions, social media, and by direct contact with staff and volunteers.
Working Collaboratively: AAPM has worked to establish a close and cooperative working relationships with numerous government bodies, organizations and key federal agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with a range of medical providers, corporation, suppliers and peer professional societies. AAPM recently spearheaded a joint response to the July 17, 2025 Federal Register notice regarding proposed changes to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program, with 5 peer societies adding their support. Read the response HERE.

Together, we can ensure the voice of medical physicists remains strong, informed, and influential.

Activities

Highlights of Recent Activities (2025):

AAPM recently spearheaded a joint response to the July 17, 2025 Federal Register notice regarding proposed changes to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program, with 5 peer societies adding their support. Read the response HERE.
Supported multiple coalition letters advocating for robust federal funding of NIH and NSF research programs.
Endorsed ASTRO’s ROCR bill aimed at enhancing radiation oncology reimbursement.
Initiated a "Take-Action" campaign opposing indirect funding caps at NIH, successfully mobilizing over 90 advocacy messages to Congressional offices.
AAPM leadership approved an official Advocacy Agenda, a strategic roadmap to guide our government relations efforts moving forward.
AAPM’s inaugural Advocacy Day (Hill Day) scheduled for Thursday, July 31, 2025 immediately following our Annual Meeting.
Launched CHAMPS, a state-level grassroots advocacy program:
- The Steering Subcommittee is actively recruiting and training state volunteers.
- This program sets targeted advocacy goals and provides training resources to enhance state-level advocacy.
Strengthened partnerships and provided training through CRCPDS, enhancing our relationships with federal and state radiation programs.
ECON Committee diligently monitors and prepares for annual CMS rule cycles, offering training to members and submitting formal comments on behalf of medical physicists.
Through WGPVAC, we proactively engaged for the Veterans Affairs Hospitals—the nation’s largest healthcare system—to safeguard medical physics contracts crucial for patient care. AAPM previously facilitated the introduction of HR6800 to address hiring and retention challenges for therapy physicists within the VA, and we’re actively pursuing its reintroduction and expansion to diagnostic physicists.

Government Affairs