The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 27 updated its guidance for mammography facilities amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The updates come more than a month after the FDA posted its original pandemic guidance and include changes related to personnel education, reduced operations, and issues with scheduling an annual medical physicist survey.
Facility personnel, including those who are furloughed or not working full time, should strive to meet Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) requirements related to continuing education and continuing experience, the agency noted. This can be achieved by taking online training courses or reviewing examinations initially interpreted by someone else.
The FDA also advised facilities to document when they continue to operate but change their scope of practice or examination volume, such as by only performing diagnostic mammograms. This includes noting the practice status of physicians, radiologic technologists, medical physicists, and other mammography personnel.
Finally, the updated guidelines state that the FDA plans to automatically grant a four-month extension for mammography facilities in completing an annual medical physicist survey between January 2020 and August 2020. Facilities that meet this qualification do not need to file an extension with the agency.
