Educational outreach to mammography facility staff to assist with compliance with the Mammography Quality Standards Act in rural North Carolina.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate an educational program targeted at mammography facilities in rural areas of North Carolina that were having difficulty complying with the 1992 Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA).


METHODS
Fourteen facilities deemed at risk for closure under MQSA were identified by state inspection personnel. Problems at the facilities were evaluated by a radiologist, a physicist-educator, and a radiation physicist through a written survey, review of phantom and clinical images, and a site visit. Individual advice and instruction were provided on-site by the physicist-educator, with written materials provided in follow-up. A repeat site visit was made 4-6 months after the initial visit.


RESULTS
Of 51 problems identified at the 12 institutions that completed the program, 35 (69%) were corrected. All facilities that had failing phantom scores at the inspection prior to the intervention had passing scores at the inspection after the intervention. There was a statistically significant increase in the sum of the phantom scores for the facilities offered this intervention compared with those not offered it (P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
This educational program improved mammography quality at participating facilities.
Pisano
E D
ED
Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, USA.
Burns
C B
CB
Washburn
D
D
D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000592:standards*; D009657:North Carolina; D011786:Quality Control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000592:standards*