PA mammo clinic fails QA, must pay for re-screens

Jun 6, 2005

A mammography technologist in Pennsylvania neglected to properly maintain equipment, resulting in inadequate screening exams for more than 1,500 women, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

A Geisinger Health Systems clinic in Lock Haven has agreed to re-screen women who originally had mammograms between May 18, 2003, and May 18, 2005. Geisinger will have to pay for the new tests under an agreement with the DEP.

Problems at the facility first came to light in February, when an internal review showed that the clinic's single mammography unit was not being calibrated on a regular basis, according to Dr. Bruce Hamory, Geisinger's chief medical officer, according to a report on WNEP-TV 16 of Moosic, PA.

The clinic then informed the DEP, which is subcontracted by the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA). Hamory said the technologist has been fired.

According to the DEP clinical review, a sample of Lock Haven mammographic films were judged to be "of poor quality, unreliable, and inconsistent with established quality standards," said Kathleen McGinty, DEP secretary.

Geisinger will notify women by mail that they are eligible for re-screening at other Geisinger clinics, and the facility has set up an information hotline at 1-800-705-0764.

While there is no evidence that similar problems exist at Geisinger's eight other mammography clinics, system administrators have agreed to a third-party independent clinical review for all facilities, according to the DEP.

The news comes on the heels of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report calling for more monitoring of mammography facilities through mandatory and voluntary medical audits. However, groups such as the American College of Radiology and the Society for Breast Imaging have questioned the feasibility of imposing additional regulations on an overburdened screening system.

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
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