In preparation for the 2005 reauthorization of the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA), Congress requested a study from the IOM recommending ways to improve the quality of mammography, with an emphasis on physician interpretation. The resulting report, Improving Breast Imaging Quality Standards, highlighted the need to decrease variability in mammography interpretation in the United States and identified gaps in the evidence needed to develop best practices. The report found that while the technical quality of mammography has improved since MQSA implementation, mammography interpretation remains quite variable. This variability limits the full potential of mammography to detect breast cancers at an early stage.
Since 2005, a substantial new body of research pertaining to mammography interpretation has been published, including evaluation of factors that could influence interpretive performance.
For example, investigators have sought to inform questions about the minimum volume necessary for high quality mammography interpretation, whether test set instruments can be used to identify radiologists performing below minimum standards, and whether live instructor-led or self-paced interventions could be used to improve interpretive performance. This expanded evidence base has the potential to guide policies to improve the interpretation of mammograms.
The workshop, hosted by the NCPF and sponsored by the American Cancer Society, reviewed the state of the evidence regarding interpretive performance in mammography, identified remaining gaps, and considered potential opportunities for advancing research and practice.
Participants discussed topics related to:
• The relationship between reader volume and interpretive performance;
• The relationship between screening and diagnostic volume, and the impact of working up one's own recalled cases on interpretative performance;
• Performance criteria to identify radiologists who might benefit most from interventions;
• Use of test instruments to assess interpretive performance;
• Tools and interventions to improve interpretive performance.
To watch the recordings of this workshop, visit: May 2015 - Assessing and Improving the Interpretation of Mammograms
Confirmed Speakers
Lora Barke, Radiology Imaging Associates
Helen Barr, Food and Drug Administration
Mireille Broeders, Radboud University Medical Center
Diana Buist, Group Health Research Institute
Patricia Carney, Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute
Susan Dentzer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Carl D'Orsi, Emory University
Patricia Ganz, University of California--Los Angeles
Berta Geller, University of Vermont
Louise Henderson, University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Abbe Herzig, Patient Advocate
Rebecca Hubbard, University of Pennsylvania
Bryan Loy, Humana
Diana Miglioretti, University of California--Davis
Barbara Monsees, Washington University School of Medicine
Debra Monticciolo, Texas A&M College of Medicine
Tracy Onega, Dartmouth Medical School
Etta Pisano, Medical University of South Carolina
Robert Smith, The American Cancer Society
Isabelle Theberge, National Institute of Public Health, Quebec
Matthew Wallis, Cambridge University Hospitals
Workshop Planning Committee
Diana Buist, Chair, Group Health Research Institute
Patricia Carney, Oregon Health & Sciences University Cancer Institute
Diana Miglioretti, University of California – Davis
Etta Pisano, Medical University of South Carolina
Barbara Monsees, Washington University School of Medicine
Tracy Onega, Dartmouth Medical School
Greta Massetti, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Patricia Ganz, University of California – Los Angeles
Lora Barke, Radiology Imaging Associates
Geraldine McGinty, American College of Radiology
Abbe Herzig, University of Albany, SUNY