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All mammography facilities in the U.S. must meet basic threshold requirements for training, equipment, quality control, and safety. The Mammography Quality Standards Act has been in place since 1992 and sets out minimum quality standards that all mammography facilities must meet in order to legally operate in the U.S. Many differences exist, however, among accredited mammography facilities. One easy and effective way of identifying higher quality facilities is to look for the Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designation by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Training and Expertise
Although all mammography technologists and radiologists must meet minimum training and experience requirements, it is beneficial to seek out providers who go above and beyond in this regard. Choosing a facility that performs breast imaging as a primary focus of its practice gives you the benefit of a higher level of experience and expertise. A radiologist who spends a significant portion of work hours reading mammograms is better able to accurately identify areas of concern. In fact, a study conducted by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) concluded that specialist radiologists, who have substantially more initial training in mammography, at least six times more continuing education, can interpret ten times more mammograms per year than general radiologists, detect more cancers and more early-stage cancers, recommend more biopsies, and have lower recall rates.
Breast Imaging Center of Excellence (BICOE) designation guarantees that a facility’s staff has received a substantially higher level of training than what is required by basic mammography accreditation and that physicians have particular expertise in breast imaging. In order to earn designation as a BICOE, the facility must earn accreditation in each of the ACR’s voluntary breast imaging accreditation programs in addition to mandatory mammography accreditation. Voluntary programs include stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound, MRI, and others. Breast MRI will be added to the list of requirements in 2016. Until then, you can inquire at individual facilities to determine whether they have earned breast MRI accreditation.
Wide Range of Services
When you use a facility that possesses capabilities that span the range of breast imaging and diagnostic procedures, you gain the peace of mind of knowing that will not have to be referred to a different facility in the event that you need further testing to follow up your mammogram. BICOE facilities will be able to perform enhanced imaging procedures and biopsy if needed. The ACR guarantees that these facilities have met training, quality control, and equipment standards related to these additional services.
Patient Care
When choosing a mammography facility, how you will be treated as a patient is an important consideration. Many people feel anxious or overwhelmed when undergoing diagnostic procedures. A compassionate and understanding staff that places a high value on patient care can go a long way toward making patients feel more comfortable, informed, and in control. When staff explains procedures fully, encourages patients to ask questions, and pays attention to patient comfort, procedures that might be intimidating, distressing, and uncomfortable become much less so.
Iowa Radiology was founded by notable diagnostic professionals with a goal of providing superior patient care. We are dedicated to treating every patient with respect and compassion. We encourage questions and take special care to make our patients as comfortable as possible during procedures. We are honored to serve the women who choose us year after year. We are proud to employ two breast fellowship trained radiologists as part of our team, Dr. Gopika Myneni and medical director, Dr. Jill Westercamp who oversees our Women's Imaging Center. We provide more information by calculating patient lifetime risk of breast cancer using the Tyrer-Cuzick model on every patient. As a BICOE, we continually demonstrate our dedication to advanced training and the best available technology in breast imaging, including digital and 3D mammogram, breast ultrasound and MRI, and different methods of minimally invasive breast biopsy to suit your health care needs. Contact us today to schedule your annual screening mammogram. We have mammography available at convenient locations in Ankeny, Clive, and Downtown Des Moines.
The health-related information on the Iowa Radiology website is meant for basic informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be used for diagnosing or treating a disease. Users of this website are advised to consult with their health care providers before making any decisions concerning their health.
